News: #Ethiopia intelligence chief visits #Mogadishu amid regional tensions, delivers message from PM Abiy to Somali presidentEthiopia’s National Intelligence and Security Service (#NISS) Director General Redwan Hussein paid an unannounced visit to Mogadishu on Tuesday, where he delivered a message from Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, amid heightened diplomatic tensions in the Horn of Africa.
According to a report by Garowe Online, Redwan met President Mohamud at the presidential palace, Villa Somalia, shortly after arriving in the Somali capital. The contents of the message were not disclosed, and neither the Ethiopian nor Somali governments have issued official statements on the outcome of the meeting.
During the visit, Redwan also held talks with Mahad Salad, Director of Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), at the agency’s headquarters. Details of their discussions were likewise not made public.
Garowe Online reported that the surprise visit followed a meeting held last week in Djibouti between Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh, and comes against the backdrop of growing diplomatic friction in the region.
The visit also coincides with a renewed diplomatic crisis linked to reports that Israel has recognized Somaliland, the self-declared independent region that Somalia considers part of its sovereign territory. The reported move has drawn strong condemnation from Mogadishu and criticism from several international partners, further complicating regional dynamics.
While no official readout has been released, the presence of Ethiopia’s intelligence chief in Mogadishu is seen as signaling a possible effort by Addis Abeba and Mogadishu to re-engage through direct communication channels at a sensitive moment for relations in the Horn of Africa, Garowe Online noted.