Somalia Stands Ground on Withdrawal of MoU as Kenya, Uganda Offer Mediation on Row with Ethiopia
GOOBJOOG NEWS|ARUSHA: Somalia has maintained its tough stance on the dispute with Ethiopia even as African countries offer to mediate the two countries.
Somalia’s new ambassador to Tanzania and the East Africa Community (EAC) Ilyas Hassan said Saturday his country remained adamant on its preconditions for any mediation.
“Somalia welcomes the regional leaders’ efforts to maintain peace, security, and stability in the HoA. However, its position remains unchanged: unless the January 1, 2024, MoU is declared null and void and Somalia’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity must be respected,” ambassador Hassan said in a post on his X account.
Ambassador Hassan said that Ethiopia was ‘unfaithful’ rendering any attempts to mediation a failure.
His remarks followed an announcement by Kenya’s President William Ruto that he will be working with his Ethiopian counterpart Yoweri Museveni to engage both Somalia and Ethiopia in resolving the row.
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Ruto, in his capacity as the new EAC chairman said the mediation was necessary, ‘Because the security of Somalia … contributes significantly to the stability of our region, and the environment for investors and business people and entrepreneurs to thrive.’
Efforts by Turkey to help in resolving the dispute between Somalia and Ethiopia mid this year failed as Somalia stood ground that Ethiopia must first withdraw the controversial MoU it signed with Somaliland at the beginning of the year.