Ethiopia, Kenya to sign MoU in combating Somalia-based Al-Shabaab

NAIROBI, Kenya - Kenya and Ethiopia will closely partner in the fight against Al-Shabaab amid the transition in Somalia, the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) leadership says, signaling the fallout with Mogadishu over regional geopolitical maneuvers.

Ethiopia and Somalia are engaged in a diplomatic fallout after the former signed an agreement over access to the Red Sea with Somaliland, a move termed by Mogadishu as 'an infringement of our territorial integrity and sovereignty '.

Somalia, in retaliation, ruled out the participation of the ENDF in the new AU mission dubbed the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), dismissing the country as 'hostile'. Somalia has since reached out to Egypt to take charge of the new mission.

But Field Marshal Birhanu Jula, Chief of Staff of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces told the media that Ethiopia and Kenya are set to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to combat Al Shabab through joint security operations.

According to Jula, the pronouncement came after a discussion between the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) and a Kenyan military delegation led by General Charles Kahariri, Chief of the Kenya Defense Forces.

Field Marshal Birhanu stated that, following extensive discussions, a draft MoU has been prepared and is expected to be signed within two weeks. He added that the agreement aims to strengthen cooperation, particularly in combating Al Shabab through joint security operations.

In Somalia, the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) mans parts of southern Somalia in Jubaland with Ethiopian forces occupying Gedo and sections of Southwest state. The teams are credited for liberating several strategic towns in the country.

With AUSSOM expected to have lean numbers of military personnel, Kenya and Ethiopia are contemplating retreating to their respective borders to keep Al-Shabaab at bay. There are concerns over the preparedness of the Somali National Army to tackle the Al-Shabaab menace.

GAROWE ONLINE