Al-Shabaab taking advantage of Somalia-Ethiopia conflict, says US

WASHINGTON - Senior US officials are weary of the conflict between Somalia and Ethiopia over access to the Red Sea, which has preoccupied Mogadishu for the last nine months after Addis Ababa made its occupation intentions public.

Ethiopia has signed a deal with Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia, which if implemented, would see it getting 20 kilometers of the Red Sea for construction of a military base and port in exchange for recognition of Somaliland as a sovereign state.

The move has angered Somalia, which accuses Ethiopia of annexation plans and infringement of its territorial integrity and sovereignty. Consequently, Somalia has signed a military agreement with Egypt, further worsening tensions in the Horn of Africa.

And U.S. officials and their Western allies worry Somalia is so preoccupied with its quarrel with Ethiopia that it has allowed Al-Shabaab to regain territory and momentum it had lost. Before this conflict, the government of Somalia had declared total war against al-Shabaab militants.

Within two years, significant progress was recorded in central and southern regions, where the group lost traditional bases after military operations. Thousands of the militants were killed while others voluntarily surrendered to the government.

Further, the government of Somalia was able to identify various sources of Al-Shabaab income, blocking quite much of what suffocated the group’s ability to operate. Such gains now risk suffering huge fate, following the emerging conflict in the region, officials in the State Department said.

Egypt—furious over a giant Grand Renaissance Dam Ethiopia built on the Blue Nile—has joined Somalia’s camp and last month delivered a shipload of artillery and antitank weapons to Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital.

The U.S., which has 450 commandos and other defense personnel stationed in Somalia to advise local troops Danab fighting al-Shabaab and Islamic State, is concerned that the entry of Egypt would further complicate the fight against al-Shabaab, Wallstreet Journal reports.

Somalia maintains that Egypt will take charge of the new mission dubbed the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission (AUSSOM) which is set to replace the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) within the next three months.

Ethiopia has traditionally helped in peacekeeping missions in Somalia and its troops are credited for the liberation of many strategic towns across the country. But Somalia says it is fed up with Ethiopia, insisting that it remains 'unwelcome' in the peacekeeping mission.

There is a divided option over Egypt's increasing involvement in Somalia's tussles with Ethiopia. Uganda, one of the countries whose support towards fighting Al-Shabaab remains invaluable, questioned the intentions of Cairo, given its long absence from the Stabilization teams.

Somalia has reduced operations against Al-Shabaab, with the US now saying the conflict with Ethiopia is partly to blame. For instance, the second phase of operations against Al-Shabaab in southern regions was halted under unknown circumstances despite earlier plans.

The al-Shabaab has been waging attacks recently, targeting various military installations across Somalia. Over the weekend, the group targeted one of the bases under the command of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud had previously noted the negative impact of Ethiopia's desires to expand territory and exert influence in the Horn of Africa, admitting that such plans would trigger the resurgence of the Al-Shabaab group, which had lost ground.

GAROWE ONLINE