Arab states back Somalia in its maritime dispute with Kenya

CAIRO, Egypt – The Arab states have jumped at the chance to back the long-chaotic Horn of Africa nation, Somalia amid deepening maritime dispute with neighboring Kenya, Garowe Online reports.

The Arab league has released statements on Thursday, voicing unwavering support for Somalia and called upon Kenya to fully respect the country’s territorial integrity, land, sea and airspace borders.

During the 4th meeting of the Arab League parliament held in Cairo on Wednesday, the bloc rejected Kenya’s threats to continue meddling Somalia affairs, saying all member states will stand by Mogadishu.

“The Arab Parliament calls on Kenya to stop its hands on Somali territorial waters, which are an integral part of the Arab waters, and rejects its false pretensions to draw up a new, unfounded map while rejecting its threats to interfere in Somalia's internal affairs,” said the Arab League.

As the dispute over the maritime boundary between the two countries worsens, the Kenyan government has called upon the United Nations (UN) to intervene in resolving the argument.

Somalia eventually filed a case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2014, which is set to rule it before the end of 2019. The case has strained the diplomatic relations between Mogadishu and Nairobi over the past two years.

The two neighbors have been locked in a dispute over their maritime boundary, with both claiming a narrow 100,000-sq km triangle of sea shelf thought to contain significant deposits of oil and gas.

Kenya summoned its Ambassador to Mogadishu, protesting against the February London conference it presumed auctioning of the offshore blocks in the disputed sea border to foreign investors.

GAROWE ONLINE