KEY POINTS
- Somalia accuses Ethiopia of smuggling weapons into the country.
- Tensions escalate over Ethiopia’s plans to build a port in Somaliland.
- Concerns grow over the risk of weapons falling into the hands of militants like al-Shabaab.
Somalia and Ethiopia are locked in a diplomatic feud following allegations from Somalia that Ethiopia has been smuggling weapons across their shared border. These accusations come amid rising tensions in the Horn of Africa, where conflicts and arms proliferation have destabilized the region.
On Tuesday, Somalia accused Ethiopia of transporting illegal weapons into the country, further straining relations between the two neighbors. This dispute was sparked by the arrival of an Egyptian warship in Mogadishu, delivering heavy weaponry for the second time since Somalia signed a security pact with Egypt in August.
Ethiopia, which has thousands of troops in Somalia to combat al-Qaeda-linked insurgents, criticized the arms deliveries, warning that the influx of weapons could strengthen Islamist militants in Somalia.
A growing rift over port and sovereignty
The strain between the two nations escalated after Ethiopia announced its intentions to build a port in the breakaway Somaliland region in exchange for potentially recognizing its sovereignty.
Somalia opposes this move, arguing it undermines its territorial integrity and has threatened to expel Ethiopian troops by the end of the year if the project is not abandoned. Â
Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister Taye Atske Selassie expressed concerns that arms from “external forces” would worsen Somalia’s fragile security situation and fall into the hands of terrorist groups. In response, Somalia’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi accused Ethiopia of deflecting blame for its own illegal weapons trafficking activities.
According to Reuters, he alleged that Ethiopia had been smuggling arms into the country for months, fueling conflict and instability.Â
Regional impact and concerns of militants
The feud between Somalia and Ethiopia has drawn attention from international analysts who fear the potential for weapons to end up in the wrong hands, particularly those of militant groups like al-Shabaab. According to Rashid Abdi, an analyst with Sahan Research, Somalia’s Islamist insurgency group, al-Shabaab, is a major beneficiary of arms trafficking, seizing weapons from both government forces and opposition groups.
“Al-Shabaab continues to harvest large quantities of weapons, and the risk of them acquiring more arms from these shipments is high,” Abdi warned.
Moreover, the United Nations recently lifted a decades-long arms embargo on Somalia in December 2023, raising concerns that this move could worsen the proliferation of illegal weapons in the region.
While Somalia has strengthened its relationship with Egypt, Ethiopia has criticized this growing alliance, seeing it as a threat to regional security, particularly as Egypt and Ethiopia remain embroiled in their dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam project on the Nile River.
