Somalia expelled the Ethiopian ambassador and closed two consulates, citing Ethiopian interference in its internal affairs on April 4th.
In a statement, the Somali government announced the closure of Ethiopian representations and instructed its Ministry of Foreign Affairs “to inform the ambassador of the Ethiopian government in the Federal Republic of Somalia to return to his country for consultations.”
This departure must occur “within 72 hours,” specified Foreign Minister Ali Omar Ali in a message on X.
The government also ordered Ethiopian representations in the Puntland and Somaliland regions to close “within two weeks” and for Ethiopian personnel to leave the country “within one week.”
The Somali executive explained that it made this decision “after realizing that the Ethiopian government is openly interfering in Somalia’s internal affairs and violating Somalia’s sovereignty.”
This announcement comes a day after a delegation from the semi-autonomous Puntland region was received at the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The delegation announced on Sunday that it no longer recognizes “the institutions of the federal state” after the Somali parliament adopted a transition to a presidential system.
Ethiopia-Somaliland Agreement
Historically strained relations between the two countries have escalated since the announcement on January 1st of the signing of a “memorandum of understanding” between Addis Ababa and the separatist Somali region of Somaliland, envisaging the lease to Ethiopia for 50 years of 20 km of Somaliland’s coastline.
Mogadishu denounced the agreement as “illegal,” a “violation of its sovereignty” equivalent to “aggression.”