Somalia says it no longer trusts Ethiopia to be a part of future peacekeeping missions, stopping short of declaring that cooperation with Addis Ababa over al-Shabaab has ended.
In a statement on Wednesday, Somalia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would pick which countries would contribute troops to the new mission, the African Union Stabilisation and Support Mission (Aussom), which is due to take over from the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (Atmis) from January next year.
But, even as Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud visited and met with leaders of countries contributing troops to Atmis this week, Somalia said Ethiopia is out of the question, for now.
“Ethiopia's recent unilateral actions, including an illegal agreement with Somalia's northern region, violate our sovereignty and erode the trust essential for peacekeeping,” the statement said.
“Past Ethiopian deployments have led to increased al-Shabaab activity and little development. This demands a more strategic selection of troop partners to ensure Aussom aligns with Somalia's security and development goals.”
While Somalia was not categorical on Wednesday on whether Ethiopia would send troops at all, Foreign Minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi indicated last month that Addis would not be a part of the new mission, because of violating Somalia's territorial integrity.
The dispute arose in January after Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding with Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia. The MoU has never been made public, but officials claimed it would grant Ethiopia access to the sea for a naval base in Somaliland in exchange for recognition of Somaliland's independence.
Mogadishu cites two other incidents: Ethiopia’s decision to give Somaliland land to build a diplomatic mission in Addis Ababa and the supply of arms to Puntland state.
“The decision on troop contributions must align with Somalia's national interests and the preservation of its sovereignty,” Somalia said.
“We remain committed to working with the African Union, United Nations, and European Union on Aussom, with Somalia leading the selection of partners that respect our sovereignty. Somalia will not compromise on decisions affecting its future and security.”
But the question now is whether cooperation with the common enemy, al-Shabaab, is over.
This week, President Mohamud met with the leaders of Kenya, Djibouti, Uganda and Burundi, the other troop-contributing countries to Atmis. They all pledged to respect Somalia’s territorial integrity, but called for a smooth transition from Atmis to Aussom, including predictable funding for the new mission.
In Nairobi, Mohamud’s last port of call in the shuttle diplomacy, a joint communique said there was a need to uphold “the constitutive principles of respect for territorial integrity, sovereignty and non-interference.”
They also said that Aussom “must be adequately resourced and noted the importance of exploring all funding options, including Resolution 2719.”
The UN resolution in question allows African-led peacekeeping missions on the continent to receive UN funding if their case justifies it.
While Somalia’s neighbours have been a part of the fight against al-Shabaab, Mogadishu last week blamed Ethiopia’s deal with Somaliland for slowing it down.
Jabril Abdulle, Somalia’s Ambassador to Kenya, told The EastAfrican on Friday that there had been a widening gulf on priorities between Ethiopia and Somalia.
“Somalia is part of the East African Community and her security has a direct link with the security of other States in the region. We have a consensus that our neighbours should come to our aid,” Abdulle said, admitting that the feud with Ethiopia is a threat to security cooperation.
“That MoU has changed the whole of Somalia's political landscape. Things were getting better for Somalia but then came in this MoU. We have now switched to the content of this MOU and left al-Shabaab to carry out attacks unabated,” he said.
“This has brought a lot of confusion on the African Transition Mission in Somalia operations and it risks facilitating the breaking of Somalia into pieces when we have been working on having a single state,” he added.
Kenya had tried to mediate between Somalia and Ethiopia over the MoU with Somaliland.
“We had a meeting attended by both Somalia and Ethiopia delegations in Nairobi and a follow-up meeting in Ankara, Turkiye. The problem caused by this MoU is quite serious to all of us,” he said.
Turkiye has twice tried to mediate between Ethiopia and Somalia and failed to find a solution. Instead, Ankara said it would now meet each side separately before planning another meeting.
Mogadishu has insisted that dialogue can only take place if Addis Ababa publicly withdraws from the Somaliland deal.
Ethiopia, on its part, has been wavering in public statements recently, saying it intends to resolve the issue of access to the sea diplomatically.
