Somalia Won’t Host Proxy War Between Egypt and Ethiopia, Says President

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somalia will not be a host to proxy wars between Ethiopia and Egypt, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has said, while affirming that the two countries will only be allowed to assist in the restoration of peace and stability in the country.

In the coming days, Egyptian troops will arrive in Somalia for a peacekeeping mission, having been approved despite initial resistance from Ethiopia, which says their presence shall jeopardize the fight against Al-Shabaab militants.

Their participation in the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) comes at a time when Cairo is locked in a dispute over the Nile River with Addis Ababa, a stalemate that remains unresolved.

In a recent interview with the BBC Somali Service, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said that there will be no "proxy war" between Egypt and Ethiopia on Somali soil, dispelling initial fears.

"Since the two countries' armies are not close to each other in Somalia, there is no chance of conflict," he said in an interview, adding that their troops would be stationed hundreds of kilometres apart.

"I see no reason why Egypt wants to disturb Ethiopia. I also see no reason why Ethiopia wants to disturb the Egyptian peacekeeping forces in Somalia," he added.

Somalia's federal government has been supported by an African Union peacekeeping mission since 2007 in fighting the Islamic extremist group al-Shabaab, which has ties with al-Qaida and is behind deadly attacks in the country.

Last year, Egypt contributed weapons to the Somali National Army (SNA) as part of the security part before offering to dispatch troops to the mission. Ethiopia resisted the move, but its concerns have since been overtaken by events.

The Egyptian government maintains that the construction of the Grand Renaissance Dam along the Nile River would affect the downstream flow of the waters, but Ethiopia has since completed the project. Ethiopia unveiled a project a few weeks ago, further angering Cairo.

GAROWE ONLINE