PM: Ethiopia has never invaded any country, we shall defend our sovereignty

ADDIS ABABA - Under pressure Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed insists his country has never been in a conflict lately with other nations, arguing that Addis Ababa will viciously defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity in case it comes under attack.

The conflicts in the Horn of Africa nation are deepening, with Somalia accusing it of infringement of its sovereignty and territorial integrity even as Egypt also maintains Ethiopia is draining water resources within the Nile River.

Anyone threatening the country's sovereignty, he assessed, will be met with strong opposition and resistance, adding that the country has prevailed in difficult circumstances in the past thus its commitment to upholding peace and unity.

"Ethiopia has never invaded another country in its history, and we will not allow anyone to violate our sovereignty," Abiy said during Ethiopia's Sovereignty Day celebration. His remarks follow the arrival of two Egyptian C-130 military planes in Mogadishu, which has heightened concerns in Addis Ababa over Egypt's growing influence in Somalia.

The decision by Ethiopia to sign an agreement with Somaliland which grants it 20 kilometers of access to the Red Sea for construction of military base and port angered Somalia. In return, Ethiopia wants to recognize Somaliland as a sovereign state.

Efforts to bring the two parties Turkey to the negotiation table failed as Somalia insisted on withdrawing from the agreement. Somalia has since reached out to Egypt and Turkey who have dispatched marine teams to safeguard the 3,333 kilometers coastline.

And the matter could escalate further given the animosity between Egypt and Ethiopia over the recent filling of the Grand Renaissance Dam (GERD) which Cairo argues deprives its people of livelihood downstream.

"Anyone intending to invade Ethiopia should think ten times before doing so. We have a long history of defending ourselves," Ahmed said, adding that Ethiopia has not engaged in conflicts with neighbouring countries in recent years.

Ethiopia's Sovereignty Day is celebrated annually on Pagume 13. Somalia ruled out the inclusion of Ethiopian troops in the peacekeeping mission which kicks off early next year after the exit of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) which is being replaced by the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM).

GAROWE ONLINE