By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Egypt on Tuesday delivered its first military support to Somalia in over four decades, a move likely to deepen the already strained ties between the two countries and Ethiopia.
Egypt and Somalia have drawn closer together this year after Ethiopia signed a preliminary port deal with the breakaway region of Somaliland.
The deal involves leasing of coastal land to Egypt in exchange for possible recognition of Somaliland’s independence from Somalia.
Somalia authorities described the deal signed by Ethiopia with the breakaway region as an assault on its sovereignty and said it will block it by all means necessary.
Heritage Times HT recalls that Somaliland, a former British protectorate, is considered a territory in Somalia.
After the surprise deal, Somalia vowed to defend its territory by “all legal means”.
The deal gives landlocked Ethiopia long-desired access to the Red Sea, one of the world’s busiest shipping routes.
Somaliland which proclaimed its independence since 1991 not recognised internationally.
It signed the memorandum of understanding with Ethiopia in Addis Ababa in January, saying Addis Ababa is the first to recognize it as a sovereign nation.
Egypt, at odds with Ethiopia for years over Addis Ababa’s construction of a vast hydro dam on the headwaters of the Nile River, has condemned the Somaliland deal.
It signed a security pact with Mogadishu earlier this month and has offered to send troops to a new peacekeeping mission in Somalia.
Two Egyptian military planes arrived at Mogadishu airport on Tuesday morning with weapons and ammunition, two diplomats and a senior Somali official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
