MOGADISHU, Somalia – Somalia accused Ethiopian forces of a deadly attack on its troops in a border region on Monday, just days after the two countries signed an accord aimed at resolving months of tension.
The Somali foreign ministry said in a statement that Ethiopian troops had attacked its forces stationed at an airstrip in the border town of Doolow in Somalia’s Jubaland state around 10:00 am.
It said the attack targeted three bases manned by the army, police and National Intelligence and Security Agency, and had caused fatalities, without giving a precise number.
But Jubaland state officials said the Ethiopian troops, who are also based at the airstrip as part of its mission against Islamist insurgents, had intervened to protect a group of local politicians.
Somalia’s federal government has been clashing in recent weeks with forces of the semi-autonomous Jubaland over control of key areas in the state.
“The incident started this morning after the (federal) forces who were stationed here were given instructions to shoot an aircraft carrying a Jubaland state delegation… including state legislators, cabinet members and the governor,” Jubaland security minister Yusuf Hussein Osman said at a press conference in Doolow.
He said a firefight ensued in the town until Somali federal forces were “disarmed and some of them wounded”.
“The pro-Jubaland forces and the Somali government security forces clashed and the Ethiopian forces who are stationed within the airstrip area intervened in support of the pro-Jubaland forces,” a local resident, Mohamed Hassan, told AFP by phone.
“The pro-Somali government forces were later overpowered after the fighting spread in other areas inside town,” he added.
Somalia is a federation of semi-autonomous member states — Puntland, Jubaland, Galmudug, Hirshabelle and South West — that have often clashed with the central government in Mogadishu.
Deal threatened
The incident threatens to upend a deal brokered by Turkey less than two weeks ago to end a nearly year-long dispute between Somalia and Ethiopia.
That dispute began in January when Ethiopia signed an agreement with another breakaway region of Somalia — Somaliland — to lease a stretch of coastline for a port and military base in exchange for recognition, although this was never confirmed by Addis Ababa.
Somalia viewed this as a breach of its sovereignty, sparking a fierce diplomatic and military row.
That appeared to be resolved when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud met in Ankara on December 12 and signed a deal that is expected to offer land-locked Ethiopia an alternative sea access in Somalia.
However, Somalia’s foreign ministry said the agreement was undermined by Monday’s incident in Doolow.
“Regrettably, these actions by Ethiopia constitute a blatant violation of the Ankara Declaration,” it said in the statement.
“The Somali Federal Government warns that it will not remain silent in the face of such clear violations of Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
