President of the Federal Government of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has on Saturday attended the African Union Leaders Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Villa Somalia said that the President during his address at the meeting, called for collective steps to be taken to establish effective mechanisms for addressing the emerging peace and security crises across the continent.
The statement added that the President denounced Ethiopia’s recent actions, specifically the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Somaliland, a region within Somalia, to gain access to the sea.
It further stated that he characterized this move as an annexation of another country’s territory, which he deemed “unconstitutional, illegal, and unacceptable.
His statement comes amid growing tension between Somalia and Ethiopia over the latter’s attempt to infringe on sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia following a Memorandum of Understanding reached between Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somaliland leader Muse Bihi Abdi in January this year.
The 1 January agreement has been stoking controversy and fray in the Horn of Africa after the break way region said it would lease part of its coastline to Ethiopia .
Somalia which considers Somaliland as part of its territory termed the deal illegal and unworkable and ratified a law nullifying the agreement.
