Ethiopia

Diplomatic sources: Efforts underway to ease Ethiopia-Somalia tensions

Somalia's new President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud speaks with Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed during his inauguration ceremony as the 10th President, on June 9, 2022. (Photo: Hassan Ali Elmi/ AFP)

By Gelle Dheere | Friday, March 8, 2024

While the MoU initially heightened tensions in the volatile Horn of Africa region, the latest dispatch from US-based Bloomberg News suggests a potential breakthrough.

Somalia strongly opposed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Ethiopia and the Somaliland administration in January, which aims to grant Ethiopia access to the sea and establish a naval base on the Somali coast in the Gulf of Aden in exchange for recognition of the breakaway northern Somalia region.

Somalia's reaction led to a robust diplomatic campaign that garnered support from key international players, including the US, China, the African Union (AU), the European Union (EU), the Arab League, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, effectively isolating Ethiopia.

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In late February, Somalia reinforced its position by signing a defence and economic cooperation agreement with Turkey, which would provide maritime security support to protect its territorial waters.

While the MoU initially heightened tensions in the volatile Horn of Africa region, the latest dispatch from US-based Bloomberg News suggests a potential breakthrough.

Citing unnamed diplomatic sources, the agency reports that Ethiopia is contemplating abandoning its plan to recognize Somaliland following increasing international pressure to de-escalate regional tensions. Both the UN and the US have called for restraint in the region.

Sources in Mogadishu revealed to The Eastleigh Voice that the US played a discreet role in diplomatic efforts to ease tensions between Ethiopia and Somalia following the MoU controversy.

They say this could be the reason for Ethiopia's silence or lack of response to Somalia's reaction.

Somalia Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre hinted at the ongoing diplomatic efforts on Sunday, emphasizing that his country was exercising restraint in managing the situation.

Despite the tensions, he noted that Ethiopian troops remained stationed in Somalia, their embassy was operational, and their flights continued to land in the country without interference. He expressed a desire for good neighbourly relations while firmly asserting Somalia's sovereignty and territorial integrity as non-negotiable.

It now appears that the US has successfully persuaded the Somali government not to escalate the conflict, while also pledging to discourage Addis Ababa from recognizing the breakaway Somaliland administration in exchange for cooperation.