Somalia sent the Ethiopian ambassador in Mogadishu back home on Thursday and closed two consulates in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland and in the breakaway region Somaliland due to a dispute over a port deal, two Somali officials said.
“The plain interference of Ethiopia’s government in the internal affairs of Somalia is a violation of the independence and sovereignty of Somalia,” Somalia’s prime minister’s office said in a statement.
Landlocked Ethiopia agreed a memorandum of understanding on Jan. 1 to lease 20 km (12 miles) of coastline in Somaliland – a territory that Somalia says it owns, even though the northern region has enjoyed effective autonomy since 1991.
Ethiopia said it wants to set up a naval base there and offered possible recognition of Somaliland in exchange – prompting a defiant response from Somalia and fears the deal could further destabilise the Horn of Africa.
Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud called the deal illegal and said in February his country would “defend itself” if Ethiopia goes ahead with it.
Peoplesmind
