{"id":20519,"date":"2024-02-17T08:42:39","date_gmt":"2024-02-17T13:42:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/somalias-president-accuses-ethiopia-of-trying-to-annex-territory-with-somaliland-sea-deal\/17\/02\/2024\/"},"modified":"2024-02-17T08:42:39","modified_gmt":"2024-02-17T13:42:39","slug":"somalias-president-accuses-ethiopia-of-trying-to-annex-territory-with-somaliland-sea-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/somalias-president-accuses-ethiopia-of-trying-to-annex-territory-with-somaliland-sea-deal\/17\/02\/2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Somalia’s president accuses Ethiopia of trying to annex territory with Somaliland sea deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud accused Ethiopia on Saturday of trying to annex part of his country’s territory by signing a sea access deal with the breakaway region of Somaliland.<\/p>\n

The agreement<\/a> between Ethiopia and Somaliland signed Jan. 1 \u201cis nothing more than annexing part of Somalia to Ethiopia, and changing the borders of Somalia,\u201d Mohamud told reporters. \u201cSomalia categorically objects to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neither side has made the terms of the deal public, but it appears to give Ethiopia the right to build a port in Somaliland in exchange for recognition. Somaliland has enjoyed de facto independence for three decades, but Somalia still claims sovereignty over it.<\/p>\n

Mohamud claimed senior officers from Ethiopia\u2019s military were in Somaliland \u201cpreparing the ground” for the territory\u2019s annexation. It was not possible to verify his allegation.<\/p>\n

Somalia has suggested it would be prepared to go to war to stop Ethiopia from building a port in Somaliland.<\/p>\n

But Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has played down fears of an armed conflict<\/a> over the Somaliland deal, telling lawmakers earlier this month that he had \u201cno intention\u201d of going to war with Somalia.<\/p>\n

Mohamud was in Ethiopia\u2019s capital, Addis Ababa, to attend an African Union summit. He charged that Ethiopian security services tried to block him from leaving his hotel on Saturday morning, forcing him to travel in the convoy of Djibouti\u2019s president.<\/p>\n

When the pair arrived at the AU headquarters, armed guards tried to prevent them from entering the building, Mohamud said, describing the alleged action as \u201cprovocation.”<\/p>\n

Ethiopia has not yet addressed the allegations.<\/p>\n

With a population of more than 120 million, Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world. It lost its access to the sea when Eritrea seceded in 1993. Since then Ethiopia has been using the port in neighboring Djibouti for most of its imports and exports.<\/p>\n

Abiy rattled his neighbors in October by describing Ethiopia\u2019s landlocked status as a \u201cgeographical prison\u201d that could bring chaos to the region, remarks his country\u2019s neighbors may have seen as a veiled threat.<\/p>\n

The deal between Ethiopia and Somaliland would grant Ethiopia access to the strategically important Gulf of Aden and, beyond that, to the Red Sea.<\/p>\n

Somaliland\u2019s citizens are divided over the deal, with some seeing potential economic benefits while others fear compromising their sovereignty. The breakaway region\u2019s defense minister, Abdiqani Mohamud Ateye, resigned over the deal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud accused Ethiopia on Saturday of trying to annex part of his country’s territory by signing a sea