MOGADISHU, Somalia – Somalia erupted in fury on Tuesday, rejecting a pact between its breakaway region of Somaliland and Ethiopia that grants Ethiopia port access in exchange for recognition of Somaliland’s independence. The agreement, viewed by Somalia as a brazen violation of its sovereignty, ignited regional tensions and threatened to unravel recent efforts at dialogue between Mogadishu and Hargeisa.
The deal, struck between Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somaliland’s leader Muse Bihi Abdi on Monday, would allow Ethiopia, a landlocked nation reliant on Djibouti for maritime trade, to lease 20 square kilometers around the strategic port of Berbera for 50 years. In return, Ethiopia offered Somaliland formal recognition as an independent state, a first for the self-declared nation.
This pact sent shockwaves through Mogadishu. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud declared the agreement “null and void,” calling it an “open interference” with Somalia’s territorial integrity. “No one has the power to give away a piece of Somalia,” he asserted in a fiery address to parliament.
The deal raised concerns of a domino effect, potentially emboldening other disputed territories within the Horn of Africa to seek similar arrangements with Ethiopia. Abiy’s stated ambition to secure access to the Red Sea has long been a source of friction with neighboring countries, including Djibouti, Eritrea, and, of course, Somalia.
As a Government, we have condemned and rejected the illegal infringement of Ethiopia into our national sovereignty and territorial integrity yesterday. Not an inch of Somalia can or will be signed away by anybody. Somalia belongs to the Somali people. This is final. pic.twitter.com/XPVwHZ4pvv
— Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (@HassanSMohamud) January 2, 2024Adding fuel to the fire, Abiy reportedly offered Somaliland a stake in state-owned Ethiopian Airlines as part of the agreement, further deepening Ethiopia’s economic and political involvement in the region.
Somaliland, which declared independence in 1991 but lacks widespread international recognition, remained defiant. Interior Minister Mohamed Kahin slammed Somalia’s claims, demanding an apology for “its claim that Somaliland is part of Somalia.”
The port deal throws a dark cloud over recent efforts to thaw relations between Mogadishu and Hargeisa. Last week, the two sides agreed to restart talks under Djibouti’s mediation, raising hopes for a peaceful resolution to their decades-long dispute.