Ethiopia and Somaliland: Security in Return for Sea Access

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somaliland leader Muse Bihi Abdi  attend the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding agreement, that allows Ethiopia to use a Somaliland port, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, January 1, 2024. (Reuters)
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somaliland leader Muse Bihi Abdi attend the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding agreement, that allows Ethiopia to use a Somaliland port, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, January 1, 2024. (Reuters)
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Ethiopia and Somaliland: Security in Return for Sea Access

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somaliland leader Muse Bihi Abdi  attend the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding agreement, that allows Ethiopia to use a Somaliland port, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, January 1, 2024. (Reuters)
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somaliland leader Muse Bihi Abdi attend the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding agreement, that allows Ethiopia to use a Somaliland port, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, January 1, 2024. (Reuters)

Ethiopia’s signing on Monday of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to use the main port of Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland has sparked a new dispute with its eastern neighbor.

Somalia declared on Tuesday its rejection of the deal and summoned its ambassador from Addis Ababa for consultations.

Landlocked Ethiopia has for years sought access to sea channels to meet its economic ambitions. Currently, it relies on neighboring Djibouti’s port for 95 percent of its marine trade.

Ethiopia has in the past sought to complete agreements with Eritrea, Sudan and Kenya over the use of their seaports. All failed for various reasons, such as war and coups in Sudan.

Mutual interests

The new MoU grants Ethiopia 20-km access to the Red Sea, specifically in the Berbera port, for a 50-year period.

In return, Ethiopia will recognize Somaliland as a republic, announced Muse Bihi Abdi leader of Somaliland, which has not been internationally recognized since it broke away from Somalia in 1991.

Under the MoU, at least 30 percent of Ethiopia’s trade transactions with Djibouti will now be process at Berbera port.

National Security Affairs Advisor to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Redwan Hussein said the MoU will pave the way for his country to carry out marine trade in the region.

It will also grant it access to a leased military base on the Red Sea as part of the agreement, he added.

In other words, Somaliland will achieve security in a turbulent region in return for selling some of its territories to Addis Ababa.

The MoU also stipulates that Somaliland will acquire a stake in the Ethiopian Airlines national carrier.

Expert in Horn of Africa affairs Abdushekur Abdulsamad told Asharq Al-Awsat that the MoU will help Somaliland in modernizing its infrastructure, paving roads and laying railways. It will also benefit from electricity generated by the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

It could gain military support from Ethiopia once the MoU is expanded further, he added.

The agreement “shall pave the way to realize the aspiration of Ethiopia to secure access to the sea and diversify its access to seaport,” PM Abiy’s office posted on X.

“It also strengthens their security, economic and political partnership,” it said.

In a televised speech last October, Abiy declared that his country needed to pursue its right to sea access, raising concerns in the region.

He said Ethiopia “is a nation whose existence was tied to the Red Sea” and that it needed access to a port.

Moreover, he said that “peace” in the region hinged on the “balanced” relations between Ethiopia and its neighbors overlooking the Red Sea, specifically naming Djibouti, Eritrea and Somalia.

Addressing the concerns raised by his statements, he vowed that he will “never pursue his interests through war.”

Partial or full stake?

Even though the MoU did not specify Ethiopia’s exact stake in Berbera port, Abdulsamad said it could be a full stake and the facility could come under Ethiopia’s complete control.

Ethiopian authorities said they will release an official statement with the details of the MoU soon.

In 2018, Ethiopia acquired a 19 percent stake in the Berbera port, according to Dubai-based DP World, which manages the port's operations. The company itself holds a 51 percent stake, while Somaliland has the remaining 30 percent.

Ethiopia was cut off from the coast after Eritrea seceded from the country and declared independence in 1993 following a three-decade war.

Addis Ababa had maintained access to a port in Eritrea until the two countries went to war in 1998-2000, and since then Ethiopia funnels most of its trade through Djibouti.

Somaliland has not gained widespread international recognition, despite declaring autonomy from Somalia in 1991.

Ethiopia, under its former President Meles Zenawi, was the first country to recognize Somaliland’s independence.

It received informal recognition from other countries that set up diplomatic missions there or carried out trade operations.

A European Union delegation had monitored the last elections that were held in Somaliland, congratulating its people, government, electoral commission and political parties for successfully organizing them.

Kenyan and Somaliland officials have exchanged visits over the years. People of Somaliland travel through passports issued in Somaliland.

Somalia stresses that Somaliland is part of its territories. Its state news agency SONNA reported that following mediation from Djibouti, it agreed with Somaliland to resume talks to resolve their disputes.

Strongly worded Somali protest

Somalia summoned its ambassador in Ethiopia in protest against the MoU.

Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre convened an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the MoU, which it described as a “blatant assault on the independence, sovereignty and unity of the Federal Republic of Somalia.” It deemed the agreement null and void.

Barre added that the government was determined to protect Somalia’s sovereignty. “No one can violate a part of Somalia’s territory, whether by sea or air,” he stated.

The government also said it was appealing to the United Nations, African Union, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Arab League, European Union and regional East African grouping IGAD among others “to stand with the right for Somalia to defend its sovereignty and force Ethiopia to adhere to international laws”.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud condemned the MoU, accusing Ethiopia of violating Somalia’s national sovereignty and regional security.

“No one can and no one will be allowed to extract an inch of Somali soil. Somalia belongs to the Somali people,” he declared in a post on the X platform.

The two Horn of Africa neighbors have a history of stormy relations and territorial feuds, fighting two wars in the late 20th century.

Abdulsamad said, however, that the tensions are now “water under the bridge.” Economic interests and policies of openness are now allowing greater rapprochement between these countries.

Eritrea

Eritrean authorities have so far not commented on the MoU, but observers believe that it will not sit well with Asmara, which will not comment on it.

Abdulsamad said Eritrea may have wasted opportunities to strike a lucrative agreement with Ethiopia to allow it access to the Assab port.

Ethiopia will not forget past agreements with Eritrea and Sudan, and it may return to them in the future, because it is working on diversifying its sources of trade operations given its massive population of 120 million people, he explained.



Lebanon Security Source Says Hezbollah Official Targeted in Beirut Strike

Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
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Lebanon Security Source Says Hezbollah Official Targeted in Beirut Strike

Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Civil defense members work as Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Lebanon November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

A Lebanese security source said the target of a deadly Israeli airstrike on central Beirut early Saturday was a senior Hezbollah official, adding it was unclear whether he was killed.

"The Israeli strike on Basta targeted a leading Hezbollah figure," the security official told AFP without naming the figure, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

The early morning airstrike has killed at least 15 people and injured 63, according to authorities, and had brought down an eight-storey building nearby, in the second such attack on the working-class neighbourhood of Basta in as many months.

"The strike was so strong it felt like the building was about to fall on our heads," said Samir, 60, who lives with his family in a building facing the one that was hit.

"It felt like they had targeted my house," he said, asking to be identified by only his first name because of security concerns.

There had been no evacuation warning issued by the Israeli military for the Basta area.

After the strike, Samir fled his home in the middle of the night with his wife and two children, aged 14 and just three.

On Saturday morning, dumbstruck residents watched as an excavator cleared the wreckage of the razed building and rescue efforts continued, with nearby buildings also damaged in the attack, AFP journalists reported.

The densely packed district has welcomed people displaced from traditional Hezbollah bastions in Lebanon's east, south and southern Beirut, after Israel intensified its air campaign on September 23, later sending in ground troops.

"We saw two dead people on the ground... The children started crying and their mother cried even more," Samir told AFP, reporting minor damage to his home.

Since last Sunday, four deadly Israeli strikes have hit central Beirut, including one that killed Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif.

Residents across the city and its outskirts awoke at 0400 (0200 GMT) on Saturday to loud explosions and the smell of gunpowder in the air.

"It was the first time I've woken up screaming in terror," said Salah, a 35-year-old father of two who lives in the same street as the building that was targeted.

"Words can't express the fear that gripped me," he said.

Saturday's strikes were the second time the Basta district had been targeted since war broke out, after deadly twin strikes early in October hit the area and the Nweiri neighbourhood.

Last month's attacks killed 22 people and had targeted Hezbollah security chief Wafiq Safa, who made it out alive, a source close to the group told AFP.

Salah said his wife and children had been in the northern city of Tripoli, about 70 kilometres away (45 miles), but that he had to stay in the capital because of work.

His family had been due to return this weekend because their school reopens on Monday, but now he has decided against it following the attack.

"I miss them. Every day they ask me: 'Dad, when are we coming home?'" he said.

Lebanon's health ministry says that more than 3,650 people have been killed since October 2023, after Hezbollah initiated exchanges of fire with Israel in solidarity with its Iran-backed ally Hamas over the Gaza war.

However, most of the deaths in Lebanon have been since September this year.

Despite the trauma caused by Saturday's strike, Samir said he and his family had no choice but to return home.

"Where else would I go?" he asked.

"All my relatives and siblings have been displaced from Beirut's southern suburbs and from the south."