President Mohamud “firmly opposed” Ethiopia's Red Sea port agreement with Somaliland, which Somalia claims as its own territory.
Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has accused Ethiopia of seeking to annex part of his territory by signing a maritime access agreement with the breakaway region of Somaliland.
Speaking at the African Union summit in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Saturday, Mohamud also said Ethiopian security forces had tried to prevent him from attending the summit amid a conflict between the two countries.
The agreement between Ethiopia and Somaliland, signed on January 1, “is nothing but annexing parts of Somalia to Ethiopia and changing Somalia's borders,” Mohamud told reporters. “Somalia is firmly opposed to it.”
As part of the agreement signed by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somaliland leader Muse Bihi Abdi, Somaliland will provide Ethiopia with a navy with access to Somaliland's Berbera port for commercial maritime activities. Grants a 50-year lease on the base.
Neither side has made the terms of the agreement public, but it appears to give Ethiopia the right to build a port in Somaliland in exchange for recognition.
Somaliland has enjoyed de facto independence for three decades, but Somalia considers the autonomous region and its 4 million people part of its northern territory.
Mogadishu views international recognition of Somaliland as an attack on Somaliland's sovereignty, and the Somali government has called the port agreement with Addis Ababa “extralegal” and “unauthorized.”
“Ethiopia is misleading the world by claiming it needs access to the sea,” Mohamud said on Saturday. “The issue is not access to the sea. The issue is how Ethiopia wants access to the sea.”
He claimed that senior Ethiopian military officials were “preparing” Somaliland for the annexation of the territory. His claims could not be verified.
Somalia has indicated it is willing to go to war to prevent Ethiopia from building a port in Somaliland. But Ethiopia's Abiy played down concerns of armed conflict over the Somaliland deal, telling lawmakers earlier this month that he had “no intention” of going to war with Somalia.
'Provocation'
Reporting from Addis Ababa on Saturday, Al Jazeera's Mohamed Baru noted that the Somali president was very outspoken in his remarks at the AU summit.
“[Mohamud] He accused Ethiopia of not just seeking normal access to the sea. Because Ethiopia has many other neighboring countries that have access to the sea and have coasts… which is what Ethiopia is really about, he said. [deal] It is the annexation of Somaliland, which is part of the Sovereign Republic of Somalia,” Val said.
“Somalia's president condemned the actions of the Ethiopian government, saying it even tried to prevent him from entering the summit site today,” the correspondent added. “He wondered how this could happen in a country that hosts the AU, an organization based on equality among African countries and the freedom of leaders to come here to participate in the summit.”
Mohamud, who was attending the 37th AU summit, said he was forced to ride in the Djiboutian president's convoy on Saturday morning after Ethiopian security officials tried to prevent him from leaving his hotel in Addis Ababa. Stated.
Mohamud said that when the pair arrived at the AU headquarters, armed guards tried to prevent them from entering the building, describing the act as a “provocation”.
But Ethiopia said it had given Muhamud a “warm welcome” and given him the full honor of visiting leaders and heads of government at the summit.
Prime Minister Abiy's spokesman Biren Seyoum told AFP news agency that security guards from the Somali delegation were intercepted as they tried to enter the venue with weapons.
“Security personnel from the Somali delegation attempted to enter the AUC premises with weapons, but were stopped by AUC security personnel,” she said.
As African leaders gather in Ethiopia for the AU summit, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Shtayyeh also attended the two-day gathering, highlighting AU leaders who remain divided over support for Palestine. In response, he raised the issue of Israel's war in Gaza.
