No space for mediation with Ethiopia unless they retract MoU with Somaliland’s, says Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The Federal Republic of Somalia maintains that it will not be involved in any mediation with Ethiopia until Addis Ababa withdraws the agreement signed with the breakaway region of Somaliland, even amid pressure for constructive dialogue.

Leaders from the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) are convening in Uganda to discuss the conflict between the two countries, which could escalate to new heights given Somalia's hard stance on the agreement.

Ethiopia agreed to have 20 kilometers of Red Sea in Somalia in exchange for Somaliland’s recognition, a move which has triggered fresh controversy within the Horn of Africa. The agreement was signed on January 1st, and the African Union now wants dialogue between the two countries.

However, Somalia has rejected the calls for mediation, insisting that Ethiopia ought to retract the MoU for and reaffirm the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia, the foreign ministry of Somalia said in response to AU which had proposed Olusegun Obasanjo as the mediator.

In that statement, the AU Peace and Security Council called for the preservation of the unity, territorial integrity, independence, and sovereignty of member states, but Somalia said it has not violated the territorial integrity of Ethiopia.

Already, the tussle between the two nations has been witnessed in the aviation industry, after Somalia turned away an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft on Wednesday, which was headed to Hargeisa, the regional administrative capital of Somaliland.

Today, Somalia’s civil aviation authority said it had denied a plane registered in Thailand, to enter Somalia airspace, Thursday. The civil aviation body said the cargo plane, registration P4-JAG, flying from Sharjah, UAE, was en route to Hargeisa and had failed to disclose the content of the cargo.

However, Somaliland Aviation Authority said airports in Hargeisa and other cities have received their regular flights on Thursday. No cargo plane from Thailand was scheduled to arrive or en route that was turned back from the airspace, the authority said in a post on Facebook.

IGAD is set to release a communique on the development after talks in Uganda over the standoff, but Ethiopia is not represented in Kampala after turning down the move. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is attending the summit which was convened by IGAD chair Omar Guelleh, the president of Djibouti.

GAROWE ONLINE