Somalia-Ethiopia tensions only serve to embolden Al Shabaab

Security forces patrolling the northern region of Kenya near the border with Somalia. PHOTO | FILE | NMG

The breakdown of diplomatic relations between Ethiopia and Somalia has far-reaching consequences, extending beyond political instability and strained economic ties.

Among deadliest of these consequences is how Al Qaeda-affiliated Al Shabaab terrorist group in the Horn of Africa is on the cusp to leverage the current tiff between Somalia and Ethiopia and make a renewed ethnic and religious divisions and discord to advance their goals of wreaking perpetual havoc in East Africa and beyond.