Farmajo flies to Djibouti for IGAD meeting on Somalia-Kenyan spat

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somalia's President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo left Mogadishu for neighboring Djibouti on Saturday where he's expected to attend the IGAD meeting opening December 20, where Heads of States and governments will be convening before the year ends.

Last week, the Somali Government announced it sent a letter against Kenya to Sudanese PM Abdalla Hamdok to convened the meeting to discuss the current diplomatic spat between the two countries.

Mogadishu has cut off ties with Nairobi, blaming for endless interference in its internal politics, and recalled the Somali ambassador in Kenya and other diplomats, besides ordering Kenya envoy out of Mogadishu within seven days, which are set to elapse early next week.

Somalia accuses Kenya of engineering political fallouts in the country, citing the decision by Jubaland President Ahmed Madobe to renege on September pre-election deal, where he demanded that the federal government withdraws troops from Gedo.

Kenya has persistently denied the claims and insisted that it would not "retaliate" against Somalia. Nairobi promised to push for amicable solutions while raising concerns about Somalia's "pre-mature" acts which "risks" regional cohesion and integration that has coexisted for several years.

It's not clear if President Uhuru will attend the IGAD meeting in Djibouti since he has proceeded to the annual leave. Kenyatta has been however keenly following the events in the Horn of Africa nation, and he was recently quoted saying "KDF will only leave once there is stability in Somalia".

The situation seemed to escalate last week when Kenyatta hosted Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi. 

Kenya is one of the troop-contributing countries to the African Union Mission in Somalia [AMISOM] and has more than 3,500 KDF personnel in the country battling against Al-Shabaab in Jubaland.

GAROWE ONLINE