Egypt sends arms to Horn of Africa Reuters

Cairo warned in January that it would not tolerate anyone invading Somali territory amid tensions with Ethiopia.

Egypt has delivered military aid to Somalia for the first time in more than four decades, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing three Somali diplomatic and government sources. The support comes in the wake of a maritime dispute between Mogadishu and Ethiopia.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that two Egyptian military planes arrived at the airport in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on Tuesday morning, loaded with weapons and ammunition.

Cairo struck a defense deal with Mogadishu in January to bolster the East African nation’s military capability after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi warned his government would not tolerate anyone threatening Somalia’s security or trespassing on its territory .

The security cooperation came in response to the Somali government’s earlier call for international support against Ethiopia to reach an agreement with breakaway Somaliland to lease 20 km (12 mi) of coastal land. The January 1 pact would allow the landlocked state to gain access to the Red Sea and build a naval base, reportedly in exchange for recognizing Somaliland’s independence.

Mogadishu, which considers Somaliland part of its territory despite the region declaring de facto independence in 1991, rejected the port access deal, calling it an act of aggression and a threat to its sovereignty.

While pledging support for Somalia at the time, Cairo, which is also embroiled in a years-long dispute with Ethiopia over the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile, accused Addis Ababa of it is a source of regional instability.

Ethiopia has consistently denied the allegations. Redwan Hussien, national security adviser to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, described condemnations of the deal as “jingoism” designed to sow discord and chaos.

In June, Mogadishu threatened to expel thousands of Ethiopian soldiers involved in the fight against the al-Shabaab terror group in Somalia ahead of a new African Union-led mission if Addis Ababa failed to cancel the deal with the breakaway region. It previously sacked Ethiopia’s ambassador and last week threatened to ban Ethiopian Airlines from its territory, claiming Africa’s biggest airline had undermined Somalia’s sovereignty.

Egypt has offered to contribute troops to the AU peacekeeping force in the conflict-torn Horn of Africa nation.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry accused Somalia of “collusion with external actors who seek to destabilize the region,” despite “tangible progress” in Turkey-brokered talks between the two countries to resolve the maritime dispute.

Addis Ababa has warned that the new mission poses a threat to the East African region, arguing that concerns raised by Ethiopia and other regional troop contributors have not been addressed.

“Ethiopia cannot sit idle while other actors take measures to destabilize the region. Ethiopia is vigilantly monitoring developments in the region that could threaten its national security,” the ministry said.

(RT.com)