Somalia accuses Ethiopia of providing arms to Puntland state
Somalia has accused neighbouring Ethiopia of supplying weapons to its northeastern Puntland region, which this year unilaterally declared it would act as an independent state despite protests from the central government, AFP reported.
There is a history of stormy relations between Ethiopia and Somalia – a fragile jigsaw of federal states, whose instability weakens the central government’s ability to counter a long-running insurgency by militant group Al-Shabaab.
Tensions between the Horn of Africa countries increased on January 1, when Addis Ababa signed a deal with another northern region of Somalia – the breakaway territory of Somaliland – which gives landlocked Ethiopia long-sought-after access to the ocean.
“Somalia strongly condemns unauthorised arms shipments from Ethiopia to Somalia’s Puntland region, violating our sovereignty and threatening regional security,” the foreign ministry in Mogadishu said on X.
“We demand an immediate halt and call on international partners to support peace efforts in the Horn of Africa.”
Somaliland is located between the Ethiopian border and Puntland.
The latter, which has been a semi-autonomous part of Somalia since 1998, said in January it would operate as an independent state due to a row with the central government over changes to the constitution.
In its post on X, the Somali foreign ministry said: “Documented evidence confirms the arrival of two lorries transporting weapons from Ethiopia to Puntland region of Somalia, executed without any diplomatic engagement or clearance.”
“This activity constitutes a grave infringement on Somalia’s sovereignty and poses serious implications for national and regional security.”
It did not say when the shipment occurred or who the weapons were sent to.
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