Somalia to receive more military supplies from Egypt

CAIRO, Egypt - The Federal Government of Somalia expects to receive more military hardware from Egypt, the state minister for Foreign Affairs said, while acknowledging the supplies Cairo has made to Mogadishu in the middle of devastating tensions.

Egypt already dispatched sophisticated weapons and ammunition to Somalia following a defense pact signed by the two countries. Ali Omar, the minister of state for Foreign Affairs said the cooperation shall give a 'cutting edge' to local forces who are fighting violent extremism.

Further, he confirmed that the Egyptian military will be deployed in Somalia to train Somali forces. In a long-term strategy, Somalia has been relying on friendly nations to train its forces ahead of overall security responsibilities taken over from peacekeeping forces.

In a televised interview, Ali Omar confirmed that Somalia has received military supplies of ammunition and weapons from Egypt and says the government “looks forward to receiving more military supplies” from the Arab Republic of Egypt.

Until now, he said, there are no Egyptian military forces on Somali territory. "But we hope shortly that there will be forces to help us train our forces and rebuild our army, and this is what we requested from Egypt."

For Somalia to be able to defend its sovereignty, it has the right to take all measures and procedures and call on the necessary forces to defend its security, and the country is very happy and grateful for the offer from Egypt, he added.

"Somalia signs agreements where it finds them legal, and this is a completely Somali sovereign decision, and no one has the right to interfere in our relationship with Egypt," he said. Somalia has also asked Türkiye to help rebuild its naval forces.

On Friday, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said Somalia will "defend itself" if Ethiopia goes ahead with the sea access deal, set up a naval base in Somaliland, and recognizes the breakaway region as an independent state.

Ethiopia has been at loggerheads with Somalia over access to the Red Sea leading to the current standoff. Somalia dismissed the agreement between Ethiopia and Somaliland as 'null and void' while calling for external intervention.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, while supporting Somalia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, said: "We will not allow anyone to threaten Somalia or infringe upon its territory."

Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre on Friday however, declared that his government will not permit Somalia to become a battleground for conflicts between other nations, specifically highlighting the tensions between Egypt and Ethiopia over the Nile dam.

He emphasized that Somalia will actively ensure such disputes remain external, preventing any foreign governments from engaging in hostilities within Somalia's borders, which are slowly dominating the Horn of Africa.

GAROWE ONLINE