Mogadishu (PP Editorial) — The security cooperation signed in Addis Ababa by the Ethiopian National Defence Forces Commander and Somaliland Administration Army commander in January 2024 came in the wake of an illegal maritime agreement signed by the President of Somaliland Administration Muse Bihi Abdi and the Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed on 1/1/2024.
Last year, Ethiopia, as a mediator, was working hard to end the conflict in Sool, but the security cooperation agreement commits itself to support militarily the forces of the secessionist administration to consummate the illegal MoU. The sordid irony is that the Federal Government of Somalia signed a defence pact with the Ethiopia in December 2023.
The United States lauded Ethiopia for sacrifices it made in peace-building in Somalia but criticised it for the illegal maritime MoU which undermined the counter-terrorism operations against Al-shabaab.
The Ethiopian government resorts to militaristic bullying against Somalia. How can a neighbouring country that Somalia signed with a security pact side with a secessionist administration to spark a conflict in the North again?
The United Nations and Somalia’s International Partners have a moral obligation to rein in the Ethiopian Prime Minister whose government’s policies violate the sovereignty of Somalia. Last year, Bihi rejected all calls by the UN to withdraw his troops from the outskirts of Laascaanood, and claimed that he had the key to peace.
In 2013 the Ethiopian government announced that it would defend Somaliland against any attacks. Ethiopia relies upon aid supplied by donor countries. Abiy portrays himself as the defender of Western interests in the Horn of Africa. The goal of Ethiopia is to show Somalis that the Federal Government of Somalia cannot defend its citizens against aggression by a neighbouring country. The silence of the Somali National Security Adviser, Hussein Sheikh-Ali, who came to prominence through his eponymous tweet Suumanka Dhuuqsada (tighten your belts) while posing for the camera aboard a US Navy ship near the Mogadishu coast, is alarming.
Talks between the Federal Government of Somali and the Somaliland Administration are premised on a peaceful solution to the political problems that resulted from the unilateral secession in parts of Northern Somalia. Ethiopia must make i its position on the conflict in Northern Somalia clear.
© Puntland Post, 2024
