Ethiopia: Somalia President’s Delegation Tried to Enter AU Summit with Guns

Ethiopia has said Somali leader Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and his delegation on Saturday tried to access the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa with unauthorised weapons. 

“The Somalia delegation refused the assigned state security personnel,” said Ethiopia in a media advisory, adding, “Moreover, the Somali delegation security attempted to enter the AUC (African Union Commission) premises with weapons which was blocked off by AUC security.” 

Mogadishu yesterday strongly condemned what it described as the “provocative attempt by the Ethiopian government to obstruct the delegation of the Somali President from attending the 2024 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 statement further read, adding, “This behaviour adds to the growing list of erratic actions by the Ethiopian Government in recent times.”

However, in response, the Government of Ethiopia said it “warmly welcomed the President of Somalia in full honours accorded to all Heads of State and Government arriving for the AU,” adding, “As host country, the Government of Ethiopia is responsible for the security of all Heads of State and Government while in the country.”

ChimpReports yesterday reported that Somali President Mohamud arrived at the AU headquarters where he was blocked by Ethiopian security security forces from accessing the venue.

Mohamud was enraged by the embarrassment. 

To Somali officials who spoke to us, the commotion at the entrance of the AU headquarters was not just a humiliation of their president but also risked their leader’s personal safety. 

Nevertheless, Mohamud’s security detail quickly contacted the IGAD Chairperson and Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh to engage Ethiopian leaders to allow the Somali leader to attend the summit. 

President Guelleh came to Mohamud’s rescue. 

Red Sea CRISIS

Relations between Somalia and Ethiopia took a nosedive earlier this year when Addis Ababa signed a secret deal with the neighbouring secessionist Northern part of Somalia known as Somaliland to access the Red Sea. 

The deal signed by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somaliland’s leader, Muse Bihi Abdi, would see Somaliland “lease 20 kms of the Red Sea to Ethiopia” for the next 50 years and also enable Addis Ababa to establish a military base there.

The agreement, which was nullified by the Somali government, allowed land-locked Ethiopia to use Berbera Port, the main port in Somaliland to access a narrow strip of water between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula that leads in the north to the Suez Canal and access to Europe.

In a statement, Somalia warned that, “Given that Ethiopia hosts the African Union headquarters, its leadership and government have an obligation to treat all African leaders equally.”

Somalia further asserted that, “hosting the AU is both an honour and a privilege for Ethiopia; however, if its government fails to uphold this honour and responsibility with the necessary decorum, it may be necessary for the African Union to reevaluate the location of its headquarters.”