Egypt to conduct joint military drills with Somalia amid tension with Ethiopia

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The Egyptian military will conduct joint military drills with the Somali National Army (SNA), a move that could escalate tensions between the two countries and Ethiopia, which is fighting for access to the Red Sea through Somalia.

Security officials in Cairo told The National that both the naval and air troops would participate in the drills but the duration and the number of soldiers expected to participate was not immediately disclosed.

"The drills will send a clear and loud message about our firm commitment to cooperate and protect Somalia," said one of the officials. "They'll mean much more than just war drills."

The move comes a few days after Egypt protested over Ethiopia's 'unilateral' policies about the Grand Renaissance Dam along the Blue Nile, with Cairo writing to the United Nations Security Council over the latest developments in the Horn of Africa.

Cairo rejects Ethiopia's policies of moving ahead with completing the construction of the dam and filling its reservoir without consulting downstream Egypt, read the letter written by Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Atty. Those policies threaten regional stability, it added.

The construction of the dam, Egypt says, would significantly reduce its fair share of the Nile waters downstream. The country heavily relies on the Nile whose source is Lake Victoria and the Ethiopian Highlands.

“Egypt has negotiated in good faith [with Ethiopia] for 13 years. The negotiations have been halted after it became clear to everyone that Addis Ababa wanted them to continue indefinitely as a cover while it created a de facto situation on the ground,” the letter said.

The letter does not add anything new to the long-standing Egyptian position on Ethiopia's handling of the dispute over the GERD. However, it took on added significance because it came amid rising tension between the two nations.

Already, Egypt has deployed troops and weapons to Somalia following a defense agreement between the two countries. Ethiopia has already protested against the cooperation, with Somalia insisting on its urge to protect territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Ethiopia was deeply angered by the move that it said would destabilize the Horn of Africa region and take it into “unchartered waters”.

Egypt and Somalia have forged closer relations since landlocked Ethiopia signed a preliminary deal with the breakaway region of Somaliland this year to lease coastal land in exchange for possible recognition of its independence from Somalia.

Somalia called the Ethiopia-Somaliland deal an assault on its sovereignty and said it would block it by all means necessary. It has also threatened to send home an estimated 10,000 Ethiopian troops who are in Somalia as part of a peacekeeping mission to fight Al Shabab militants if the deal is not canceled.

GAROWE ONLINE