Did Ethiopia supply weapons to Somalia's Jubaland?

MOGADISHU, Somalia - For the fourth time in under one year, the government of Somalia accused Ethiopia of meddling in the internal affairs of the country, claiming that Addis Standard dispatched both weapons and troops to Jubaland state in readiness for war.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is at loggerheads with Jubaland leader Ahmed Islam Mohamed Madobe, who secured his third term through indirect elections which the federal government maintains was 'unconstitutional and illegal'.

And multiple sources say two Ethiopian aircraft delivered weapons to Kismayo, the regional administrative capital of Jubaland in what could escalate tensions within the Horn of Africa nation which is still struggling with instability.

According to Deputy Information Minister Abdirahman Al-Adala, one of the planes transported Jubaland VP Mohamud Sayid Aden to Addis Ababa after the Ethiopian government deployed a significant number of troops into Somalia's Gedo region in recent days.

Speaking to reporters in Mogadishu on Sunday, Al-Adala said the Somali government will defend the country against Ethiopian encroachment and attempts to undermine the country's security. He added that Ethiopia trains Somali militia on its soil amid tension with Somalia over its Red Sea access deal with Somaliland.

This is the fourth time Somalia has placed Ethiopia on a crime scene over alleged support to regional authorities. In July the Somali government reported that its security forces had seized two truckloads of weapons brought over the border from Ethiopia by weapons traders.

Around the same period, Somalia alleged Ethiopia delivered weapons to Baidoa. In September Somalia reported Ethiopia shipped weapons to Puntland, which has also cut ties with the federal government of Somalia over governance disputes.

Ethiopia denied earlier accusations on July 26. It has yet to respond to the September accusations and the fresh one. Somalia maintains that Ethiopia is obsessed with plans to gain access to the Red Sea through Somaliland and has asked international partners to chip in and avert a possible bloodbath.

GAROWE ONLINE