ADDIS ABABA – Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Saturday accused Ethiopia of an attempt to annex part of its territory through its MoU with Somaliland supposedly to access the sea.
At a press conference in Addis Ababa before his departure after attending the 2024 African Union Summit, President Mohamud also said Ethiopia security blocked him from accessing the AU headquarters to attend the closed-door meeting of heads of state and government.
The relations between the two Horn of Africa states have been escalating since the signing of the MoU on New Year by PM Abiy Ahmed and Somaliland leader Muse Bihi.
Mohamud said the deal, which led to the severing of the ties “is nothing more than annexing part of Somalia to Ethiopia, and changing the borders of Somalia … Somalia categorically objects to that.”
The Somalia leader said Ethiopia is misleading the world by claiming it needs an access to the sea, while it has other alternatives, including through Somalia. He said Ethiopia, just like the other 16 landlocked countries in Africa has means of accessing the sea through established international frameworks.
“The question is not access to the sea. The question is how Ethiopia wants access to the sea.”
He said the real purpose of the MoU is to annex Somaliland, which is a part of the sovereign republic of Somalia.
ACCESS TO AU HEADQUARTERS
Mohamud also said armed Ethiopia security attempted to block him from leaving the hotel to attend the AU meeting, forcing him to use the motorcade of his Djiboutian counterpart Ismail Omar Guelleh.
“This morning when I prepared myself to come and attend the closed session of the summit, the Ethiopian security blocked my way,” Mohamud told reporters from the headquarters.
He said even the motorcade of President Guelleh was also blocked from the AU headquarters; a claim Ethiopia denied.
“A soldier with a gun stood in front of us and denied us access to this facility,” he said.
Somali National News Agency SONNA also released a statement stating: “The Federal Republic of Somalia strongly condemns the provocative attempt by the Ethiopian government to obstruct the delegation of the Somali President from attending the 2024 African Union Summit in Addis Ababa”.
“This action breaches all diplomatic and international protocols and, most critically, the established traditions of the African Union. This behavior adds to the growing list of erratic actions by the Ethiopian government in recent times,” it added.
It added that given Ethiopia hosts the AU headquarters, its leadership and government ought to treat all African leaders equally.
“Hosting the AU is both an honor and a privilege for Ethiopia; however, if its government fails to uphold this honor and responsibility with the necessary decorum, it may be necessary for the African Union to reevaluate the location of its headquarters,” the statement added, even as it called for a probe into the incident.
However, PM Abiy’s spokesperson Billene Seyoum told AFP Ethiopia warmly welcomed President Mohamud and accorded him the full honors of visiting heads of state and governments to the summit.
She, however, said problem started when the Somali delegation declined the security offered by Ethiopia and tried to enter a venue with their weapons.
“As host country, the government of Ethiopia is responsible for the security of all heads of state and government while in the country. The Somali delegation security attempted to enter the AUC premises with weapons, which was blocked off by AUC security,” Seyoum said.
