Somalia’s foreign ministry has condemned what it called a provocative attempt by
the Ethiopian government to obstruct a delegation led by Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud from attending an African Union summit in Addis Ababa.
“This action breaches all diplomatic and international protocols and, most critically,
the established traditions of the African Union,” the ministry said in a statement on Saturday, Feb. 17.
“This behavior adds to the growing list of erratic actions by the Ethiopian government in recent times. Given that Ethiopia hosts the African Union headquarters, its leadership and government have an obligation to treat all African leaders equally,” it added.
The ministry urged the AU to “conduct a credible and independent investigation to this outrageous conduct in line with the protocols of the union”.
The ministry did not say how and when the attempted obstruction took place but president Mohamud was shown in a video on X addressing the summit on Saturday.
Ethiopia did not comment immediately.
Mohamud arrived in the Ethiopian capital on Feb. 16 to take part in the African Union’s annual summit of heads of state and government amid a row between the two Horn of African nations over a recent controversial maritime pact.
It was Mohamud’s first known trip to Addis Ababa since January 1 when a major diplomatic row erupted between the two neighboring nations over a deal between Ethiopia and the self-declared state of Somaliland.
The agreement envisioned Somaliland leasing 20 kilometers of coastland on the Gulf of Aden to Ethiopia for 50 years for commercial and military use.
In return, Ethiopia said it would recognize Somaliland’s independence.
Somaliland, which announced unilateral independence in 1991, is internationally considered part of Somalia.
Its deal with Ethiopia has been angrily condemned by the Somali government, which recalled its ambassador from Addis Ababa in protest.
Ethiopia has relied on its neighbors, specially Djibouti, for its imports and exports since Eritrea seceded in the early 1990s.
