The Foreign Affairs Minister of Somalia has indicated that the country may explore the possibility of establishing connections with and providing support to rebel groups opposing the Ethiopian government, should the latter proceed with the agreement it has made with Somaliland. This statement reflects Somalia’s strategic considerations in response to regional developments.
Ahmed Moalim Fiqi addressed this issue during an interview with local Universal TV on September 12. He articulated that the option to engage with armed factions in Ethiopia remains viable for Somalia, particularly if the Ethiopian government persists in its current course of action. Fiqi emphasized that this potential engagement is not merely a reaction but a strategic choice available to Somalia.
Despite outlining this option, Fiqi clarified that the situation has not escalated to that point yet. He expressed optimism for a peaceful resolution, stating that while the possibility of supporting the rebels exists, it would only be pursued if hostilities continue and the Ethiopian government attempts to enforce the controversial agreement. His remarks underscore a cautious approach, balancing the need for regional stability with the realities of ongoing tensions.
Fiqi was inquired about the Somali government’s intentions regarding communication with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which had been engaged in a two-year conflict with Ethiopia’s federal government until the Pretoria Cessation of Hostilities Agreement was established in November 2022. He acknowledged that discussions had taken place on this matter, emphasizing that the disintegration of Ethiopia does not align with the interests of Somalia or the broader Horn of Africa region.
Fiqi further elaborated that should Ethiopia persist in its support for factions that oppose Somalia, as well as for secessionist groups with which they have formed agreements, this could present a viable option for Somalia. His remarks indicate a cautious approach, balancing the complexities of regional politics while asserting Somalia’s position in the face of external influences.
In response to Fiqi’s statements, Nebiyu Tedla, Ethiopia’s deputy permanent representative to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, expressed his disapproval. He characterized the Somali foreign minister’s comments as absurd, suggesting that individuals affiliated with al-Shabab masquerading as government officials are ineffectual beyond the confines of Mogadishu, and he warned that such rhetoric could jeopardize the progress made in Somalia, potentially leading the nation into further turmoil.
Relations between the two countries have been warming up during the last three decades as Ethiopia hosted reconciliation conferences and sent troops to help successive Somali governments. But relations turned sour when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the president of the self-declared, breakaway republic of Somaliland on January 1, 2024.
According to Somaliland officials, under the MOU Ethiopia will be the first country to recognize Somaliland as an independent nation in return for the leasing of 20 kilometers (12 miles) of seashore to be used as a naval base by Ethiopia for 50 years. Somalia sees the deal as infringement to its sovereignty.
On Friday, U.S. Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa Mike Hammer, speaking in Addis Ababa, urged both countries to find ways to work together.
“Let me state unequivocally the United States supports Somalia’s territorial sovereignty, integrity and unity, and we have made that very clear,” he said.
“We want to see peaceful and good relations between all countries in the region and certainly between Ethiopia and Somalia. And we urge both to find ways to move forward and look how they can continue to work together. We are well aware of the ENDF’s [Ethiopian National Defense Forces] and Ethiopia’s sacrifice in Somalia in the fight against al-Shabab. That is what we should be focusing on, frankly from the U.S. perspective, how we can support Somalia in its fight against al-Shabab.”
Hammer said fighting al-Shabab requires good relations between Somalia and Ethiopia.
“There is no reason that these two countries should have difficulties that can’t be resolved again through conversations. But again, both countries need to accept the basic principes outlined frankly by the AU charter, which is affirmation and recognition in understanding of each other’s territorial sovereignty, integrity and unity,” Hammer told reporters at the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa.
Somalia and Ethiopia fought two wars and supported each other’s rebels in the 1970s and 80s.
In February 1988, the president of Somalia, Mohamed Siad Barre, and Ethiopian President Mengistu Haile Mariam, reached an agreement in Djibouti mediated by late Djibouti President Hassan Guled Aptidon. They agreed to cease hostilities and committed to cease supporting each other’s rebels.
This story originated in VOA’s Horn of Africa Service.
VOA
It is now made official by the leaders of Somalia currently camping out at Villa Mogadishu that they start giving military and financial assistance to the rebel groups currently wreaking havoc inside Ethiopia. I am inclined to believe that OLA has his reps in Villa Mogadishu already and a faction of Fano may be at a connection flight airport to Mogadishu. ONLF is no question that it has beaten OLA and Fano to it thru its standing rep the only foreign policy expert on the Horn of Africa, Af-Mishaar. No wonder why bigots and connivers in Minnesota, Toronto, Tennessee, Michigan, Oslo, DC and Down Under are in an upbeat mood lately. They might have begun packing already to move to their newly minted republic soon to be liberated by the mighty armies of el-Sisi and Villa Mogadishu. Oh, poor boy me, am jealous!!!
But putting my sketch, my setup for the punch line aside, this announcement by Somalia’s leaders reminds me what one of my Issa friends told me when I had the chance to see him again in the early 1980’s after he was resettled in a small town in the Midwest here in the USA. He was the brother of my early childhood. He was forced to flee the old country from Mengistu’s killing spree and seek refuge in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu. He told me he had cross paths with fighters from the TPLF during the years 1976-78 who were there taking training in the use of heavy artillery guns. Mind you that was the time when the Somali army along with its beast of burden, ONLF, were rampaging in eastern parts of the old country massacring innocent unarmed students, peasants and small town residents who were not Somalis. One of those savagely murdered was one of my childhood friends, Abebe Gurmu, who was a civil servant in Western Hararghe. He was an Oromo who professed Christianity. My Issa friend was still inside Ethiopia when that took place. The reason they murdered him was that he complained about how he and others like him who sought refuge were being treated by the ONLF. Then one early morning they took him out and about thirty other non Somali refugees and used them as target practice by their newly recruited militia. That was the last straw for our Issa brothers and sisters to order the ONLF and the Somali regular army to leave their territory. That was what started the tide turning on Siad Barre’s hooligans. But at the same time in Somalia, the late prime minister and his comrades were training on how to use heavy and long range guns on their own countrymen. My friend told me how disgusted he was seeing them scavenging at the dumpsites in Somalia. So I won’t be surprised if OLA and certain factions of Fano are in Mogadishu already scavenging just as their predecessors. I am just getting nauseated thinking by such repugnant behavior.