An Egyptian warship has delivered a second major cache of weaponry to Somalia, including anti-aircraft guns and artillery, according to port and military officials. This move is likely to exacerbate tensions between Egypt, Somalia, and Ethiopia.
Relations between Egypt and Somalia have strengthened this year due to their mutual distrust of Ethiopia. Cairo has sent several planeloads of arms to Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, following the signing of a joint security pact in August. Ethiopia's agreement with the breakaway region of Somaliland, which includes leasing land for a port in exchange for possible recognition of its independence from Somalia, has angered Mogadishu.
Egypt, which has long been at odds with Ethiopia over the construction of a large hydro dam on the Nile River's headwaters, has condemned the Somaliland deal. The Egyptian warship began unloading the weapons on Sunday, according to one diplomat. Security forces cordoned off the quayside and surrounding roads on Sunday and Monday as convoys transported the weapons to a defence ministry building and nearby military bases, according to two port workers and two military officials.
Nasra Bashir Ali, an official at Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre's office, shared a photo on her X account showing Defence Minister Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur overseeing the unloading of the ship. Egyptian authorities either declined to comment or did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Egyptian media reported that the country's embassy in Mogadishu warned its citizens against traveling to Somaliland due to the security situation. Ethiopia has at least 3,000 soldiers stationed in Somalia as part of an African Union peacekeeping mission (ATMIS) fighting insurgents, with an estimated 5,000-7,000 troops deployed in other regions under a bilateral agreement.
Somalia views the Somaliland deal as an attack on its sovereignty and wants all Ethiopian troops to leave by the end of the year unless Addis Ababa cancels the agreement. Egypt has offered to contribute troops to a new peacekeeping mission in Somalia, according to the African Union, though Cairo has not publicly commented on the matter.
