ADDIS ABABA – Ethiopia has denied that its forces crossed the shared border with Somalia in pursuit of al-Shabaab militants.
Permanent Representative of Somalia to the United Nations Ambassador Abukar Dahir Osman recently accused Ethiopian troops of illegally crossing shared borders and confronting local security forces.
In a weekly briefing on Thursday, spokesperson of the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Nebiyou Tedela denied the accusation as “baseless.”
“There is nothing new but thousands of Ethiopian troops as part of the African Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) are fighting al Shabaab, an Islamist militia which currently controls a large portion of the east African country,” Tedela said.
According to the spokesperson, Ethiopia did not conduct any military operation by crossing the shared border with Somalia.
He said there have been regular military training and change of military camps near border areas but not breaching of the border.
“The Somali government now controls no areas but Villa in Somalia,” Tedela said.
On 31 May, Hussein Sheikh Ali, the National Security Adviser to the President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, said Somalia expects all Ethiopian troops to leave the country.
MG/as/APA
