Somalia Orders Closure of Ethiopian Consulates Amid Rising Tensions Over Somaliland Deal
GOOBJOOG NEWS | MOGADISHU: Federal Government of Somalia’s Council of Ministers has ordered closure of Ethiopia’s consulates in Hargeisa in Somaliland and Garowe in Puntland citing the neighboring country’s “interference” in its internal affairs.
Somalia’s cabinet in its official statement gave Ethiopia a week to close the two consulates and ordered the Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs to inform Ethiopia’s Ambassador Muktar Mohamed to return to Addis Ababa for consultations.
Further, the cabinet issued a one week notice to Ethiopian diplomats and workers at these two consulates to leave the country within a one week period, failure to which further actions will be taken against them.
Relations between the two countries became frosty after Ethiopia signed a controversial Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Somaliland on January 1st, sparking protest from Somalia which said the deal violated its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
On Wednesday, State Minister of Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs met with a delegation from Somalia’s Puntland region, coordinating with the Federal Government of Somalia.
