Somalia asks Ethiopia not to interfere with flow of River Shabelle

Somalia has called on its neighbour Ethiopia not to interfere with the flow of River Shabelle which is a shared resource between the two countries amid reports Ethiopia was denying Somalia the much needed resource which supports millions of Somalis.

Agriculture minister Ahmed Hassan Gaboobe, said Ethiopia has to respect Somalia’s “historical rights” and the basics of international law on natural sources shared by countries.

“Founding principles of the international law regulating joint watercourses between states are very clear. We call upon our neighbouring Ethiopian government to respect these laws,” said Gaboobe.

The move came after one of Somalia’s two biggest rivers, Shabelle dried two times since Ethiopian government raised its consumption through irrigation and putting up dams along the river. It is not immediately clear if the drying up of river Shabelle is directly attributable to Ethiopia’s consumption.

River Shebelle is 1130 kilometres long, extending for 1000 km inside Ethiopia and 130 km inside Somalia.
The river flows through Middle and Lower Shabelle, Hiraan regions sometimes causes destructive flash floods.