Somalia on Tuesday
rejected a pact its breakaway region of Somaliland signed with Ethiopia
allowing it to use a major port with access to the Red Sea in return for
recognition as an independent state, saying the agreement had no legal force.
Somalia, which views
Somaliland as part of its territory, also summoned its ambassador to Ethiopia
for deliberations over the agreement signed by Ethiopian Prime Minister AbiyAhmed and Somaliland leader Muse Bihi Abdi on Monday.
The agreement would allow landlocked Ethiopia, which relies on neighboring Djibouti for the majority of its marine trade, to lease for 50 years 20 kilometers around the port of Berbera, which is located on the Gulf of Aden with access to the Red Sea.
In exchange, Somaliland's
leader stated that Ethiopia will be the first country to recognize Somaliland
as an independent nation.
Abiy's stated ambition to
secure access to the Red Sea is a source of tension between Ethiopia and its
neighbours and has raised concerns of a fresh conflict in the Horn of Africa.
In October, Abiy said
Ethiopia's existence was "tied to the Red Sea," adding that "if
we (countries in the Horn of Africa) plan to live together in peace, we have to
find a way to mutually share with each other in a balanced manner".
After an emergency cabinet
meeting in which it was declared that the pact between Ethiopia and Somaliland
was "an open interference with Somalia's sovereignty, freedom, and
unity" and "null and void," Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh
Mohamud announced in parliament that "no one has the power to give away a
piece of Somalia."
"Somaliland, you are
the northern regions of Somalia, and Ethiopia has no recognition for you,"
Mohamud added. If Ethiopia claims to have given you recognition, such
recognition does not exist."
According to Abiy's
national security adviser, Ethiopia will offer Somaliland a part in state-owned
Ethiopian Airlines in exchange for access to the Red Sea. It is unclear how
much is at stake.
According to Reuters news
agency, Billene Seyoum, spokesperson at Abiy's office, Meles Alem, spokesperson
at Ethiopia's foreign affairs ministry, and Legesse Tulu, the Ethiopian
government spokesperson, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Somaliland has not gained
widespread international recognition, despite declaring autonomy from Somalia
in 1991.
Last week the Somali
National News Agency said Somalia and Somaliland had agreed to restart talks to
resolve their disputes, following mediation efforts led by Djibouti.
Somaliland's interior
minister Mohamed Kahin told reporters on Tuesday that Somaliland could never
accept the position taken by Somalia on the deal with Ethiopia. "We ask
Somalia to apologize for its claim that Somaliland is part of Somalia,"
Kahin told a news conference.
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