Egypt, Eritrea and Somalia Agree to Boost Security Cooperation

CAIRO, Reuters: The presidents of Egypt, Eritrea and Somalia agreed on Thursday to boost cooperation for the Somali army to confront “terrorism” and protect its land and sea borders, a joint statement said, leaving Ethiopia further isolated in the region.

The security agreement will unsettle Addis Ababa, which has thousands of troops in neighbouring Somalia fighting al Qaeda-linked insurgents, but has fallen out with Mogadishu over its plans to build a port in the breakaway region Somaliland.

The spat has drawn Somalia closer to Egypt, which has itself quarrelled with Ethiopia for years over Addis Ababa’s construction of a vast hydro dam on the Nile River.

Ethiopia has also irked Eritrea in recent years, having excluded Asmara from peace talks that ended the war against regional forces from Tigray, where their troops had fought alongside one another.

Calls to Ethiopian government officials seeking comment were not answered.