HARGEISA, Somalia – The Somali aviation authority turned back an Ethiopian Airlines plane en route to Hargeisa city, the capital of Somaliland breakaway region on Wednesday.
The flight was denied access to Somalia’s airspace amid worsening diplomatic relations between the two neighboring countries which are at loggerheads over the Red Sea deal.
The plane was carrying top Ethiopian government officials who were on a mission to finalize the controversial sea access agreement that was signed in Addis Ababa between Somaliland leader Muse Bihi and PM Abiy Ahmed on 1st January.
The landlocked country with 120 million population is eager to acquire a 20-km sea in Berbere and Lughaye towns, where Abiy Ahmed plans to build a port and a naval base.
Somalia has termed the MoU as illegal and contrary to its sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity. Mogadishu has summoned its ambassador to Addis Ababa for consultations on the matter.
Ethiopia has a large number of combat forces in Somalia, which are mostly non-ATMIS and operating under a security deal to fight the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab militant group.
