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Somalia's president on Tuesday rejected an agreement signed between Ethiopia and the breakaway region of Somaliland that would give landlocked Ethiopia access to its coast, calling it a violation of international law.
“We will not stand idly by while our sovereignty is threatened,” President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud told a joint session of Somalia’s federal parliament.
Somaliland, a region strategically located on the Gulf of Aden, broke away from Somalia in 1991 as the country descended into warlord-led conflict. The region has retained its own government despite a lack of international recognition.
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On Monday, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somali President Muse Bihi Abdi signed a memorandum of understanding allowing Ethiopia to lease a 12.4-mile stretch of coast to build a naval base.
Somaliland's president said the agreement also contained a clause that Ethiopia would recognize Somaliland as an independent country in the near future.
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Somalia's President said Somalia and Ethiopia have a long history and peaceful coexistence is the only way to ensure lasting peace in the region.
The Somali flag is raised in Mogadishu, Somalia on January 28, 2010. (YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images)
He also expressed concerns that Ethiopia's presence could lead to extremism, saying Ethiopia's invasion of Somalia in 2006 to combat the Islamic Courts Union led to the rise of the extremist group al-Shabab, which still poses a significant threat.
“We must be careful not to jeopardize the significant progress we have made in defeating this group, and this move opens another opportunity for al-Shabab to recruit,” Mohamud said.
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Al-Shabab, through its spokesman, Sheikh Ali Dhere, called on the Somali people to unite and defend their land and sea against perceived external threats. The statement was broadcast by the group's radio station, Andalus.
With a population of more than 120 million, Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world.
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The agreement strengthens the security, economic and political partnership between Ethiopia and Somaliland, said a statement from the Ethiopian Prime Minister's Office.
“The deal is unlikely to impact regional stability in the short term,” said Matt Bryden, strategic adviser at Sahan Research, a Nairobi-based think tank.
Somalia has no ability to impose its will on Somaliland by force, but will likely use instruments of legal sovereignty to isolate the country, Bryden said. These include restricting the activities of aid agencies and donor governments, restricting international flights and warning foreign economic interests against doing business with Somaliland, he said.
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However, an escalation in the political and diplomatic posture of neighboring countries such as Djibouti and Eritrea is “very likely” in the longer term, said Bryden.