Why Somalia is so concerned about Ethiopia’s deal with Somaliland | DW News

Somalia has condemned a deal reached between Ethiopia and the Breakaway region of somal land in it Addis Ababa recognizes somal land as an independent country landlocked Ethiopia signed the agreement to gain access to the Red Sea the government in Mogadishu has recalled its ambassador from Ethiopia Somalia

Says the deal is a violation of international law and is pledging to defend its territory by any legal means Matt Briden is a strategic adviser with Sahan research a think tank based in Nairobi Kenya welcome to DW first can you tell us more about this agreement between Ethiopia and Somali

Land well at this stage there isn’t a great deal to say uh what we’ve seen is a a summary of the memorandum of understanding and um what it says is that essentially uh that Ethiopia will obtain access to um the Red Sea to a uh

A place that will serve serve as a base for Ethiopian Maritime or Naval assets and may also provide some commercial access um for as an outlet for Ethiopia to the sea in exchange for that Ethiopia would be prepared to offer diplomatic recognition to somal land but much of

This is not yet official we’ve heard it in statements from the somal land government we’ve heard parts of the the uhou the agreement from the Ethiopian government that by the way also includ potentially a share in Ethiopian Airlines for the somal land authorities um but we haven’t yet seen the full text

And there’s some time remaining before full implementation of the agreement would come into effect what in that memorandum that you have seen at this point do you think is so worrying to Somalia that it would recall its Envoy to Ethiopia oh no question it’s worrying um

For a number of reasons one is that Ethiopia has reached an agreement with with uh the government of somal land which has been functioning as an independent uh polity for the last 30 odd years since 1991 and has been aspiring to Independent statehood um this would seem to be uh the first time

That a foreign government is ready to recognize somal land as an independent state now Somalia doesn’t exercise effective control over most of its territory so although it claims juridical sovereignty and this is clearly a threat to that sovereignty and to somalia’s territorial Integrity um at the same time Somalia can’t really

Practically do very much about it so it’s a it is concern uh to Mishu and the Somali government is using all of the Diplomatic and J rical instruments at its disposal it’s launched a counter offensive diplomatically to prevent this from happening but practically it’s not clear what Somalia could do what does

This mean for regional security and stability or what could it mean in the short term probably not very much what we’re seeing is a a lot of posturing and rhetoric from Ethiopia or from somal land and from Somalia from Ethiopia we haven’t yet heard much in

The way of response um Somali land has been fairly stable and secure it patrols over 800 kilometers of the Gulf of Aiden Red Sea Corridor where there is currently a problem with um with houthi attacks shipping and where we’ve seen piracy in the past soms contributed to International Security there but this

Could create competition on the one hand between Somalia and its allies like Eritrea potentially Egypt members of the African Union and Arab League and then Ethiopia on the other side and somal land which also have African Union allies Arab League allies and I think we could see a division within and between

These blocks of States as they try to determine what’s the best way forward to resolve this dispute yeah we only have about 30 seconds left but I don’t want to let you go without asking you if you see any diplomatic solution that would be acceptable to all sides here well diplomatically um this

Agreement comes almost 24 hours after somal land and somalia’s heads of state their presidents were talking in the neighboring country of Djibouti to try and resolve this impass but more than 12 rounds of talks have failed and this is probably why somal land is seeking unilateral recognition so I think the

Solution diplomatically would be for the two parties to come together to chart a serious political B us that Matt brighten and iobi thank you so much for that thank you

Somalia has condemned a deal reached between Ethiopia and the breakaway region of Somaliland. In it, Addis Ababa recognizes Somaliland as an independent country.

Land-locked Ethiopia signed the agreement to gain access to the Red Sea. The government in Mogadishu has recalled its ambassador from Ethiopia. Somalia says the deal is a violation of international law and is pledging to defend its territory by any legal means.

For on this, we talk to Matt Bryden. He is a Strategic Advisor with Sahan Research, a think tank based in Nairobi, Kenya.

#Somalia #Ethiopia #Somaliland

Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/user/deutschewelleenglish?sub_confirmation=1

For more news go to: http://www.dw.com/en/
Follow DW on social media:
►Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deutschewellenews/
►Twitter: https://twitter.com/dwnews
►Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dwnews
►Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/dwnews_hangout
Für Videos in deutscher Sprache besuchen Sie: https://www.youtube.com/dwdeutsch

31 comments

  1. The government in Mogadishu should focus in bringing peace to the horn of Africa rather than engaging some of its neighbors in a war,they should just leave jubaland and Somaliland to rule themselves as sovereign states as they desire

  2. THE MOA IS NULL AND VOID AND IT WILL NEER HAPPEN. 99% OF SOMALIS ACROSS THE WORLD ARE AGAINST THIS AND THEY CAN DEFEND THEIR SEA WITH NO PROBLEM. Somalis always defend their land without even government help.

  5. Somaliland 🇭🇺🇭🇺🇭🇺🇭🇺🇭🇺🇭🇺 Somaliland 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 hanbalyo hanbalyo hanbalyo Somaliland 🇭🇺🇭🇺🇭🇺🇭🇺🇭🇺🇪🇹 guuu lyo gobanlmo 🙏🙏🙏🙏❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ good luck Somaliland ❤❤❤
    Maash Allah 🤲👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

  6. May be Somalia should not have bombed the sh§t out of its population in the 80s and 90s and it would still have Somaliland

  7. This is a silly Question and irrational, what is Somaliland, it a Somali State or Province which does not have the legitimity for signing international aggreements without the consent of the Federal Government of Somalia, this move was a direct and clear aggression and violation against our sovereigmty and no independent state accepts this. if Ethiopia does not stop these kinds of provocative interventions to our terroritory a war will be inevitable. they think Somalia is weak but when we are United we can defeat any enemy, ask the United States of America, we defeated them in 1993 during their so called hope Restoration Operation. we also defeated Ethiopia and its allies in many wars. we Somalis are real warriors.

  8. You know what is the saddest things is that Ethiopian the Cradle of civilisation the only country never been colorized yet it is amazing how signing Djibouti for 100-year lease Georgia French allegedly living in regional autonomy democracy before democracy was spread and Europe the right of individual to be independent as a will yet here are the reasons for another hold back progress towards developing the future for the country and the content will take another 100year

  9. Stop you divide and conquer policy the lantern 77 war between Ethiopia and Somali left Somali Lawless until recent years
    Have we have learnt anything from this listen to Bruce the boss war what is a good for absolutely nothing hazards and unnecessary bloodshed and probably a cell of weapon go War Machine producing country come on now in our business to to prosper to grow should not be sabotage really should be encouraged

  11. If that's the case Eritrea belongs to Ethiopian….Ethiopia work on African economy integration for people development.

  12. Somaliland is just TWO Somali cities in the north run by thugs so any deal is null and void Ethiopia just wasting its time and looking for trouble.

  13. The federal government of Somalia will never ever accept such an illegal step from ethiopia, Somaliland is same as Galmudug, Puntland and other member states.
    The Somalis in Northern Somalia (somaliland ) are not ready or accept separating from the rest of the country their majority want to back their government of Somalia.
    Let's respect the sovereign of Somalia if not no country will respect its neighbors we'll recognize Tigray as a country.
    Respect begets respect and disrespect begets disrespect.
    One nation Somalia 🇸🇴.

  14. Do you guts know how much the west will aggravate the situation. They will spin this narrative for the two African countries to hate each other. Nothing they want more than a divided and chaotic Horn of Africa. We need to be able to solve our issues on our own. Respect each other. If the horn is tarnished in war, and poverty the west can control us easier! Think people.

  18. Somalia is a failed state and faces significant challenges as a nation, grappling with internal instability and a limited military capacity. It is currently hosting a considerable number of Ethiopian troops as part of a peacekeeping mission. It is essential to discern between factual information and misleading narratives. Despite the presence of these troops, Somalia's military has struggled to eradicate the Shabab insurgency around Mogadishu. Some claim that the Shabab militia is closely linked to President Hassan's family, contributing to their persistence. However, such assertions may be driven by animosity towards Somaliland, as they have rejected a substantial investment project from the United Arab Emirates, led by DP World. The Berbera corridor project, aimed at constructing a road to Ethiopia, has faced resistance from Somaliland, though it is progressing successfully. Claims of jealousy may underlie criticisms, emphasizing the importance of scrutinizing the motives behind such statements.

  23. ETHIOPIA must recognize SOMALILAND as the legitimate government of all Somalia including the French Colony called Djibouti . Might is right

  24. First of all, Somaliland does not break away region it's de jure and legitimate government and fullfilled montevideo convention 1933.The border of Somaliland same the border of 26 june 1960. Somaliland gained it's independence From United Kingdom !960 26 june and recognized 35 countried include USA,İsrael, soviet Union and China. After 5 days Somaliland tried to make a unification of 5 Somali regions. The only legitimate was Somaliland. Somaliland enter illegal unification with ex UN trusteeship of Somalia under İtalian administration 1960 1 july but neither of them was signed and never enacted into law. Somaliland restore it's sovereinty 1991 18 may after annexation and illegal occupation in 31 years with brutal genocide/democide while Somalia became failed state after collapse Somali Republic and Somaliland beacome peaceful country. Somali Republic=Somaliland Republic +Somalia Un trusteeship=1960 1 july.Somaliland and Somalia is different History and culture. Somalia did not fullfilled montevideo convention. The border between SOmaliland And Somalia is dot dot. no demarcation border Somalia. The border Somalia has is the border between Somaliland and Somalia Anglo İtalian treaty.
    Treaty series no 44 1960.
    British somaliland then 26 une 1960

  27. I know little of this dispute. My only concern is stability in East Africa. Hopefully this can be resolved in a way that doesn't destabilize the region.

  28. Somaliland is a part and parcel of Somalia and no single country can or will recognise somaliland soon or later, This agreement is null and void and Somalia will stop to implement by all means. if all diplomatic solutions didn't work Somalia has no any other option unless to defend their territorial integrity and sovereignty. I'm so sorry DW News to invite Matt Bryden who is siding Ethiopia and it has been banned to operate Somalia in 2018 due to his wrongdoings. warmongers can not be invited to analysis such crucial issues.

  29. Correction…,. Somaliland is not a country. It’s its one of the states of Somalia.
    Ethiopia is trying to envade Somalia and colonize that part of Somalia which will not going to happen

  31. Congrats to both brotherly countries and people.
    Somalia has not ruled Somaliland for over 30 years.
    UAE and England have such agreements before but Somalia was quite. Why all these noise when Ethiopia makes a deal?

Leave a Reply