Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al Sisi said this today Egypt will defend Somalia against possible “threats”. after the recent agreement between the self-proclaimed independent Somaliland and Ethiopia guaranteeing that country access to the Red Sea, which the President described as “unacceptable”.
“We will not allow anyone to threaten our brothers, especially when they ask us for help.”Al-Sisi said at a news conference in Cairo with Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, to whom he assured: “We are on your side.”
The Egyptian president assured that “we do not threaten anyone,” but warned that “no one is trying to test Egypt,” citing his country's military might and its ties with Ethiopia due to the construction of a dam in the African country were tense. Cairo expects to reduce its share of Nile water.
The Ethiopian government and the self-proclaimed independent Somali region of Somaliland announced this at the beginning of the month an agreement to guarantee Ethiopia's access to the Red Sea. The pact would also allow Ethiopia to maintain a permanent naval base and commercial maritime service in the Gulf of Aden through a lease for a 20-kilometer coastline extension for a period of fifty years.
In return, Ethiopia would internationally recognize Somaliland as an independent country. “Access to ports through agreements may be possible through traditional means (…) without problems, but controlling other people's lands, as is the case in the agreement, is unacceptable,” Al Sisi added, recalling that his country had announced its rejection of the pact.
“Somalia is a member of the Arab League and thas every right to be defended if threatened in accordance with the Arab Joint Defense Agreement,” he stressed.
The pact between Ethiopia and Somaliland was condemned also by the Arab League, consisting of 22 members, which considered it a “violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity” of Somalia.
Egypt and Ethiopia suspended their negotiations with Ethiopia over the filling of Ethiopia's mega dam in December “Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam” (GERD)built on the Blue Nile, and said it would “defend” its water security if the flow of the Nile was affected by this structure.