Mogadishu — The situation in the Horn of Africa is extremely complex. Somalia is arming itself to fight more effectively against Al-Shabaab terrorists, while in Ethiopia the situation is critical due to the Amara Fano rebel militias, the crisis with Mogadishu over the port of Somaliland and the dramatic humanitarian situation in the Tigray region, which is aggravated by a deep economic crisis in the country.
"It is our religious duty to defend the independence and unity of Somalia," declared a group of religious leaders at a recent meeting in Mogadishu, condemning what they called "aggression" by Ethiopia in Somalia. In particular, the religious leaders expressed their strong opposition to the Memorandum of Understanding recently signed by Ethiopia with the separatist region of Somaliland, and instead supported the growing relations between Somalia and Egypt.
"We cannot accept this violation of our country's sovereignty by Ethiopia," said one of the representatives. According to local sources, the religious representatives called on the Somali people to remain united in defending their nation. They asked them to remain calm and not to stir up social divisions. They called for a unanimous rejection of the agreement, stressing that it is a moral obligation to oppose such actions and prevent further interference. They also called on the Somali government to promote a climate of dialogue between citizens with different opinions in order to strengthen national unity. In this context, the religious representatives praised relations between Egypt and Somalia, stressing that the two countries have a long history of positive cooperation. They welcomed Egypt's increasing engagement, particularly against the backdrop of rising tensions between Ethiopia and Somalia.
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What is worrying, meanwhile, are recent comments by Somali Foreign Minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi, who has threatened to provide military support to militias opposing Abiy Ahmed's government in Ethiopia if it attempts to implement the agreement signed with Somaliland. Supporting such militias would reopen a painful page in the history of the Horn of Africa, when Somalia and Ethiopia fought each other and supported opposing rebel groups in the 1970s and 1980s. It was not until February 1988 that Ethiopian President Mengistu Haile Mariam and Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre signed an agreement in Djibouti in which they committed to stop supporting the rebels.
Ahmed Moalim Fiqi said that Ethiopia's collapse was not in Somalia's interest at the moment, but suggested that supporting militias opposing Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy could become a realistic option if the Ethiopian government pursues the deal with Somaliland, which Somalia sees as a violation of its sovereignty.
The diplomatic tensions between Somalia and Ethiopia stem from the agreement under which Ethiopia would cede 20 kilometers of coastline to breakaway Somaliland in return for supporting its independence, a move Mogadishu has condemned as illegal. For Somaliland, leasing the coastal strip for 50 years to an Ethiopian naval base could usher in a new political phase, as Ethiopia would be the first country to recognize Somaliland as an independent nation. Somali religious leaders have called on Ethiopia to respect peaceful coexistence between neighboring countries and maintain regional stability. The dispute is part of the increasingly close relations between Egypt and Somalia, an alliance that some analysts see as a counterweight to Ethiopia's controversial policy in the Horn of Africa.
