Somalia has expelled the Ethiopian ambassador, ordered the closure of two Ethiopian consulates and recalled its own ambassador over Addis Ababa's plan to build a naval base in the breakaway region of Somaliland.
Somalia to expel Ethiopia's ambassador and close two Ethiopian consulates over Addis Ababa's plan to build a naval base in the breakaway region of Somaliland. AFP - EDUARDO SOTERAS
Issued on: 05/04/2024 - 13:24Modified: 05/04/2024 - 13:32
Authorities in Mogadishu say they've given Ethiopia's ambassador 72 hours to leave the country and ordered the closure of Ethiopian consulates in Somaliland and the semi-autonomous region of Puntland.
However Ethiopia's foreign ministry told Reuters it was unaware of any such moves and has no information on the matter, which was first announced by ther Somalian prime minister's office.
"This follows ... the actions of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia which infringe upon Somalia's sovereignty and internal affairs," Somalia's foreign ministry said in a statement.
Senior officials from Somaliland and Puntland, which is engaged in another constitutional dispute with Mogadishu, said they would not apply the order to shut the consulates.
"The embassy shall remain open irrespective of what Mogadishu says," said Rhoda Elmisaid, Somaliland's deputy foreign minister, adding that Somaliland was an "independent sovereign nation".
Mohamud Aydid Dirir, Puntland's information minister, said: "Somalia's decision will not work. It cannot shut the consulates in Puntland and Somaliland."
Naval aspirations
The expusion is linked to a dispute over a deal to lease 20km of Somaliland coastline to landlocked Ethiopia.
Somalialand claims independence and has had effective autonomy since 1991.
Ethiopia said it wanted to set up a naval base there and offered possible recognition of Somaliland in exchange – prompting a defiant response from Somalia and fears the deal could further destabilise the region, which has been plagued by an Islamist insurgency and piracy.
Somalian President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said the port deal, agreed on 1 January, was illegal – adding the country would "defend itself" if Ethiopia were to go ahead with its plan.
Constitutional changes
Tensions between Mogadishu and Puntland also flared last month when Puntland's state council said it had withdrawn from the country's federal system and would govern itself independently in a dispute over proposed changes to Somalia's constitution.
Last weekend, Somali legislators overwhelmingly approved a series of constitutional amendments aimed at restructuring the political and electoral framework, granting greater authority to the president, and allowing him to appoint and dismiss prime ministers.
They also enhance the president's control over electoral commission appointments, diminishing the role of federal states in the process.
The potential repercussions of the amendments have raised concerns about violence given they would mean significantly changing the constitution.
Somalia's move to expel the ambassador and shut down the consulates also raises concerns over the fate of some 3,000 Ethiopian soldiers stationed in Somalia as part of an African Union peacekeeping mission fighting al Shabaab militants.
In February, Mohamud said he had no plans to kick them out of the country.
