Ethiopia Wednesday warned that the transition from the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) to a new peace support mission is fraught with dangers to the Horn of Africa region.
The warning comes after two C-130 Egyptian military planes arrived on Tuesday at Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu as part of a defense pact between Cairo and Mogadishu.
Egypt is preparing to deploy some 10,000 troops to help stabilise Somalia but Ethiopia regards the implications of an Egyptian military presence in the region with distrust.
The authorities in Mogadishu have made it clear Ethiopian troops would not be part of a new peacekeeping operation after ATMIS winds down later this year.
Somali president Shiekh Hassan Mohamud was in Cairo recently to garner support from his counterpart Abdel Fattal El-Sisi over a dispute with Ethiopia triggered by a controversial port access deal with breakaway Somaliland in January.
Mohamud recently called off the third round of talks brokered by Turkey to settle the disupte with Ethiopia.
Somalia regards the Somaliland port deal as a move that undermines its territorial sovereignty and integrity and has since enlisted help from its neighbours most notably Egypt which has been in a protracted feud with Ethiopia over a dam being built on the River Nile.
Cairo holds that the dam would compromise its natural share of water from Africa’s longest river, a claim Ethiopia has variously dismissed as inaccurate and alarmist.
Both Egypt and Ethiopia have not ruled out going to war to guard against any negation of their conflicting interests over the Nile.
Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs In a statement late Wednesday said all those parties which are preparing and authorising a new peace support mission to replace ATMIS in Somalia must take into account the legitimate concerns of countries of the region especially neighbours contributing troops to keep al-Shabaab insurgents at bay.
Without mentioning Egypt by name the authorities in Addis Ababa have reacted with alarm over Egypt’s military build-up in neighbouring Somalia in the name of a new peacekeeping mission.
“Forces trying to inflame tension for their short-term and futile objectives must shoulder the grave ramifications. Ethiopia cannot tolerate these actions that endanger the gains made against regional and international terrorist groups,” its foreign ministry said.
While the African Union and the United Nations are preparing for the transition, the region is entering into uncharted waters, the ministry warned.
It claimed that repeated calls by Ethiopia and other troop contributing countries have not been taken seriously while Addis Ababa was being expected to ignore hostile statements and the continued attempt to undermine the sacrifices of its defense forces for peace and stability in the region.
“Ethiopia cannot stand idle while other actors are taking measures to destabilise the region. Ethiopia is vigilantly monitoring developments in the region that could threaten its national security,” the ministry’s statement added.
MG/as/APA