Egypt Delivers Arms to Somalia Amid Rising Regional Tensions
(Bloomberg) -- Egypt began supplying arms to Somalia and will provide training to its troops, a Somali official said, ratcheting up tensions in the Horn of Africa region.
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The weapons delivery follows a deal earlier this year for landlocked Ethiopia to recognize the sovereignty of Somaliland, which has proclaimed independence from Somalia, in return for access to a port on the Gulf of Aden. In response, Somalia sought assistance from Egypt by signing a military cooperation pact earlier this month.
Ethiopia and Egypt are also at loggerheads over the construction of a giant hydropower dam on the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia. The North African nation has expressed concern the reservoir may affect the flow of its main source of fresh water.
“Guns and ammunition arrived yesterday,” Somali Foreign Minister Ali Mohamed Omar said by phone of the Egyptian delivery. “The idea is to have in-house training and Egypt will supply some of that.”
Since 2006, Somalia has relied on Ethiopian and other African troops to help fight Islamist-militant groups trying to overthrow the government. While about 13,000 soldiers in the African Union peacekeeping mission are expected to leave by the end of year, the continental body has endorsed the creation of a replacement force.
Somalia will “under no circumstances” allow Ethiopian soldiers to join the new peacekeeping mission unless Ethiopia’s abandons its deal with Somaliland, Omar said. Donor nations are still discussing the financing and composition of the new force, he said.
Ethiopia warned that the transition to a new peacekeeping force risks raising tensions in the Horn of Africa, as it accused Somalia of “colluding with external actors” to increase instability. It didn’t specify which nations it was referring to.
“Ethiopia cannot stand idle while other actors are taking measures to destabilize the region,” the nation’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. “Forces trying to inflame tension for their short-term and futile objectives must shoulder the grave ramifications.”
--With assistance from Mirette Magdy and Fasika Tadesse.
(Updates with Ethiopian foreign ministry comment in final paragraph)
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