MOQADISHUU: Somalia vowed on Tuesday to defend its territory by "any legal means" and recalled its ambassador to Ethiopia after Addis Ababa struck a controversial deal with the breakaway region of Somaliland.
The Addis Ababa deal was announced only days after Somalia's central government agreed to resume dialogue with the separatist northern region after years of stalemate.
The "historic" memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somaliland leader Muse Bihi Abdi gives Ethiopia access to the Red Sea port of Berbera and a leased military base.
Abdi said in a statement that in return, Ethiopia would formally recognise Somaliland, becoming the first nation to do so.
The Somali cabinet insisted Somaliland remained a part of Somalia under the constitution "so Somalia finds this step to be a clear violation against its sovereignty and unity".
It said in a statement that the agreement was "null and void with no legal basis" and announced that it has recalled its ambassador to Ethiopia for consultations.
The government also said it was calling for urgent meetings of the UN Security Council and the African Union to discuss "Ethiopia's aggression and interference against the sovereignty of our country".
In an address to the nation, Prime Minister Hamza Barre called for the people of Somalia to stay calm.
"I want to assure you that we are committed to defending the country, we will not allow an inch of land, sea and skies to be violated," he said.
"We will defend our land with any legal means possible... We must unite and forget about our differences to defend our land, integrity and sovereignty."
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud made a similar declaration to parliament, rejecting the deal as a violation of international laws but insisting Somalia bore the people of Somaliland no animosity.
There was no immediate comment from the Ethiopian government to Somalia's reaction.
The deal comes months after Abiy said his country, Africa's second most populous with about 120 million people, would assert its right to access the Red Sea, sparking concerns among its neighbours.
Somalia and Somaliland agreed to resume dialogue after two days of talks mediated by Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh, the first of their kind since 2020.
The deal was welcomed by IGAD, which Somalia joined only in November, and the British embassy which described it as a "vital step towards reconciliation". — AFP
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