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Addis Ababa(ANN)-The Ethiopian government has expressed great concern and has warned that the weapons delivered to Somalia can worsen the conflict and divert it to terrorists, as reported by the Ethiopian news agency today.
Taye Atske Selassie, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, spoke about this a day after an Egyptian ship unloaded heavy weapons from Mogadishu, which was the second shipment of weapons within a month, following a security agreement between Somalia and Egypt. signed in August 2024.
Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister Taye Atske Selassie said he is concerned that the supply of ammunition by “foreign intelligence will worsen fragile security and end up in the hands of Somali terrorists,” according to the Ethiopian news agency, citing the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. .
For its part, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt confirmed the delivery of weapons, saying that this shipment is intended to support Somalia’s efforts to strengthen security, combat terrorism, and protect the territorial independence of Somalia.
Cairo said it is committed to helping Somalia build its military strength and security stability.
Related: Somalia: A ship belonging to Egypt unloaded a cargo of weapons in Mogadishu
On Villa Somalia, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Somalia, Ahmed Macallin Fiqi, expressed the concern of the Ethiopian government that the weapons that arrived in Mogadishu are hiding in Ethiopia “the illegal weapons imported from the border of Somalia, which are handed over to the people and terrorists.” He said, Fiqi.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia said in a statement on the 20th of this month that Somalia “strongly condemns the recent shipment of weapons and ammunition from Ethiopia to the Puntland Regional Government of Somalia.”
In December of this year, the United Nations Security Council lifted the arms embargo on Somalia, which has been in place for more than 30 years, but there have been voices indicating that this move will bring back the civil war that took place in the country and also affect the security of the region and the efforts of the international community to restore peace in Somalia have been eliminated.
Related: Somalia to lift the arms embargo has brought scandal to the Security Council and the United States
The conflict between Somalia and Ethiopia has greatly increased, after Addis-Ababa signed an agreement with Somaliland on January 1, 2024, which stipulates that 20 km of maritime territory will be leased, and in return it will recognize Somaliland.
The Somali government called the Somaliland agreement a violation of its independence and nationalism, and said it wants all Ethiopian troops to leave the country by the end of this year.
Related: Somaliland expels Egyptian diplomats from its Country
The Egyptian government, which benefited from the conflict between Somalia and Ethiopia, while the tension between Ethiopia in the last year was in dispute over the large dam that Addis Ababa is building on the Nile River, transferred its dispute to the Somali side, and Egypt entered into an agreement with the Villa government. Somalia, promising to send troops to Somalia to replace those of Ethiopia which is part of the African Union operation.
Currently, Ethiopia has 3,000 soldiers in Somalia as part of the African Union peacekeeping operation ATMIS, while approximately 5,000 to 7,000 other soldiers are in the country under other agreements.
These issues also caused the Somaliland government to expel the Egyptian workers and their citizens, and Somaliland also closed the doors of the Egyptian cultural library in Hargeisa.
Written by Arraale M. Jama, a freelance journalist and human rights activist.
Araweelo News Network.
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