Somalia President Hassan Sheikh dares Ethiopia to implement MoU with Somaliland

In his first interview since relations between Ethiopia and Somalia became frosty, a tough-talking President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia dared Ethiopia to try and implement a recent illegal agreement it signed with a region in Somalia giving itself access to Somali waters.

President Hassan Sheikh spoke on an Arab Channel on Monday about the agreement Ethiopia signed on January 1 with Somaliland to lease a 20 km stretch of seashore for commercial and military use and in return Ethiopia to recognize the northern breakaway enclave of Somaliland.

The Somalia President now vows that any action by Addis Ababa towards enforcing the agreement with Somaliland will be met with an equal amount of force.

Asked whether there is a possibility of war between Somalia and Ethiopia if Addis Ababa pushes to implement the agreement, President Hassan Sheikh did not mince his words.

“We have no intention at all currently (to fight Ethiopia) we have a war with Al-Shabaab, a global and a continental terrorist group. We have no intention to take our focus away from that unless we are compelled to do so, and we hope we will not be compelled to do so,” he told Al-Arabia TV channel in Egypt during his recent official visit to Cairo.

He said Somalia has now chosen to tackle what he calls “Ethiopian aggression” through legal means for now by seeking the support of the regional and international community to help Addis Ababa drop its “land grabbing” move.

However, he stressed that should not be construed as a weakness.

“We are working within the framework of the international law and international order. We hope that would be enough to bring Ethiopia to its senses and back to normal and to behave as a responsible country among the international community. If that is not the case, then if they take another step we will react to that step,” he warned.

Countering Ethiopia

On his first official visit to Cairo to meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the Somali leader said Egypt promised to stand with Somalia. He said many countries have stood with Somalia because the Ethiopian action went against international diplomatic norms and brought unnecessary friction in the already volatile Horn of Africa region.

“If Ethiopia does not refrain from these actions and it starts to do another crazy action then Somalia will need the support from everywhere,’ he said.

“What's important is that when there is a common threat common strategies have to be there,” he added when asked whether Egypt and Somalia are likely to form a partnership to counter Ethiopia.

“Somalia President’s visit to Egypt was strategically meant to send a clear message to Ethiopia that Somalia stands with Egypt in their Nile water quarrels. Ethiopia never anticipated Cairo to come to the rescue of Somalia. That poses a new challenge and headache to their annexation of Somali water because they now know it will not be a walk in the park,” Somalia political analyst Abdi Ali told Eastleigh Voice by telephone.

The Somalia President said he had made it clear to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia before he signed the agreement, that Somalia was ready to negotiate with him but that he instead “chose to annex the sea” through the “illegal agreement” which he said is tantamount to daydreaming.

“I told the Prime Minister of Ethiopia to stop this rhetoric about accessing the sea but just come let’s negotiate let us establish technical teams to negotiate on how, but he didn’t want access to the sea, he wanted land to annex that is the ultimate aim that he has and that is what he did through this memorandum of understanding, and this is not acceptable. It will never happen. This is a dream that will never become real,” President Sheikh Mohamud vowed.

Ridwan Hussein, the National Security Advisor to the Ethiopian Prime Minister sought to tone down the rhetoric and political tensions brought about by the MoU.

“As part of our commitment, we shall redouble our effort to ensure a better understanding. Will listen to friends for possible coordination of efforts to lower the rhetoric. Will continue striving to steadily reach a conclusion with amicable consideration which benefit all,” he posted on social media on Tuesday.