Somalia-Ethiopia Crisis : Mogadishu Can Count On Cairo

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has stressed his country’s total support to Somalia in the wake of the current crisis with Ethiopia. “Trying to jump on a piece of land to try to control it is something that no-one will agree to”, Egyptian President El Sisi said in Cairo on Sunday, January 21, 2024 during a news conference with Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. The remarks were the strongest yet made on the issue by an African President after the Arab League and United States condemned the signing saying it is gross violation of Somalia’s sovereignty. The United States apart from condemning, also called for restrain as the crisis risk deescalating. The Egyptian Gazette reports that, President El Sisi’s reaction is a sign that Cairo may get involved in a dispute that has raised fresh tensions in the volatile Horn of Africa.
On January 1, 2024, Ethiopia after signing a memorandum of understanding said, it would consider recognizing Somaliland’s independence in return for gaining access to the Red Sea. According to the port deal, Somaliland would lease 20 km of coastland around the port of Berbera, on the Gulf of Aden, for 50 years to Ethiopia for mili...