Somalia accuses Ethiopia of annexation attempt at AU Summit

Tensions between Somalia and Ethiopia escalated at the African Union summit in Addis Ababa over the weekend.

This is after Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud accused Ethiopia of attempting to annex part of Somalia's territory through a controversial sea access deal with the breakaway region of Somaliland.

President Hassan expressed his concerns, stating, "The agreement between Ethiopia and Somaliland is nothing more than annexing part of Somalia to Ethiopia and changing the borders of Somalia. Somalia categorically objects to that."

The deal, signed on January 1, grants Ethiopia a 50-year lease on a naval base with access to Somaliland's Berbera port for commercial marine operations.

Somaliland granted the naval base lease in exchange for potential recognition.

However, Somalia sees any international recognition of Somaliland as an attack on its sovereignty, calling the port deal "outrageous" and "unauthorised."

President Hassan accused Ethiopian military officials of being in Somaliland and "preparing the ground" for annexation, although the claim remains unverified.

"Ethiopia is misleading the world by claiming that they need access to the sea. The question is not access to the sea. The question is, how does Ethiopia want access to the sea?"

In response to these accusations, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed dismissed the possibility of armed conflict, stating that he had "no intention" of going to war with Somalia over the Somaliland deal.

However, Somalia has indicated its willingness to go to war to prevent Ethiopia from building a port in Somaliland.

The diplomatic tension also spilt over to the African Union Summit venue. President Hassan alleged that Ethiopian security forces attempted to block his access to the summit, describing it as a "provocation."

Ethiopia countered the claim, with Prime Minister Abiy's spokesperson stating that the Somali delegation's security detail was denied entry to the venue due to the presence of weapons.