Somalia and Ethiopia ‘Bury the Hatchet’ After Months of Fierce Feuds

GOOBJOOG NEWS|ANKARA: Somalia and Ethiopia have agreed to ‘forgo and leave behind differences’ in what is a monumental change of course following months of bitter fallouts and threats.

In a communiqué following the mediation of Turkish President Recep Erdogan on Wednesday, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced an end of 12 months of rocky relations that saw the expulsion of diplomatic officials and covert acts of antagonism.

The communiqué noted that the two leaders ‘agreed in a spirit of friendship and mutual respect to forgo and leave behind differences and contentious issues and forge ahead in a cooperative manner to pursue shared prosperity.’

The landmark agreement comes just days after Somalia accused Ethiopia of sending weapons into the country and shipping out clan militias in the HirShabelle region to Ethiopia for training to further destabilise the country.

Somalia has also variously accused Ethiopia of stocking tensions, especially in the border regions. This follows the signing of the January 1 Memorandum of Understanding between Ethiopia and the breakaway region of Somaliland, which granted the Ethiopian military a 20 stretch of land along the Red Sea cost for 50 years.

The two leaders further agreed to work out a lease agreement that would see Ethiopia ‘enjoy reliable access, secure and sustainable access to and from the sea, under the sovereignty of Somalia.’;

Conspicuously missing however from the communiqué is the fate of the January MoU which formed the basis of disputes between the two countries. Somalia has vigorously maintained that Ethiopia must withdraw the MoU as a precondition for any talks.

The communiqué does not mention whether Ethiopia now principally withdraws the deal.

The talks come barely two weeks before the December 31 deadline, when Ethiopia was expected to pull out its troops from Somalia after Mogadishu declared it would not allow Addis Ababa to retain troops under the AUSSOM framework.

The African Union Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) is set to begin its mandate in Somalia by January 2025.