Politics

Ethiopian envoy expelled by Somalia over naval base dispute

Published

3 weeks ago

April 6, 2024

Amid a disagreement over Ethiopia’s proposal to construct a naval station in the breakaway territory of Somaliland, Somalia said on Thursday that it was recalling its ambassador to Addis Ababa, closing two Ethiopian consulates, and expelling Ethiopia’s ambassador.

Speaking on behalf of the Ethiopian foreign ministry, Nebiyu Tedla stated that Ethiopia was unaware of any information regarding the issue, which was initially made public by the prime minister’s office of Somalia.

“This follows … the actions of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia which infringe upon Somalia’s sovereignty and internal affairs,” Somalia’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

According to the foreign ministry, Somalia has ordered the closure of Ethiopia’s consulates in Somaliland and Puntland, a semi-autonomous province, and given Ethiopia’s ambassador 72 hours to leave the country.

Senior representatives from Puntland, which is involved in a separate constitutional conflict with Mogadishu, and Somaliland declared that the edicts would not be applicable in their regions.

“The embassy shall remain open irrespective of what Mogadishu says,” Rhoda Elmisaid, Somaliland’s deputy foreign minister, told Reuters in a private message sent via the social media platform X. “Somaliland is an independent sovereign nation.”

According to two Somali officials, the actions were related to a disagreement over a memorandum of understanding that landlocked Ethiopia signed on January 1st, agreeing to lease 20 km (12 miles) of coastline in Somaliland, a region of Somalia that has enjoyed effective autonomy since 1991 and asserts its independence.

In exchange for Ethiopia’s recognition as an independent state, Somaliland, the breakaway territory of Somalia, can use a major port with access to the Red Sea thanks to a controversial pact.

Somalia has described the pact as an act of “aggression” and a violation of its sovereignty. Somaliland is requesting a 50-year lease from Ethiopia to lease 20 kilometres (12 miles) of the coastline in exchange for Ethiopia’s access to a military installation and commercial marine services.

The information minister for Puntland, Mohamud Aydid Dirir, stated to the Voice of America Somali radio station that Somalia’s decision would not be successful. It is unable to close the Somaliland and Puntland consulates.”

Related Topics:Ethiopia Featured Somaliland

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Politics

African leaders want record World Bank financing to address climate change

Published

3 hours ago

April 29, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Ahead of a World Bank conference scheduled for later this year, African leaders on Monday called for rich countries to commit to record contributions to a low-interest World Bank facility for developing nations.

The leaders stressed that most African countries depend on the fund to sponsor development and combat climate change.

At a meeting in Japan in December, donors will promise to give money to the International Development Association (IDA), a World Bank organization that gives loans with low-interest rates and long terms.

“We call on our partners to meet us at this historic moment of solidarity and respond effectively by increasing their IDA contributions… to at least $120 billion,” Kenya’s President William Ruto told a meeting of African leaders and the World Bank to discuss IDA funding.

African economies were facing a “deepening development and debt crisis that threatens our economic stability, and urgent climate emergencies that demand immediate and collective action for our planet’s survival,” Ruto said.

He talked about the terrible floods in Kenya and the serious drought in Southern African countries like Malawi. If donors promise the least amount that African leaders have asked for, it will be a new high.

The previous high was $93 billion, which was raised in 2021. IDA loans are given out every three years, and donors usually give their money at a world meeting before the loan is given out.

The World Bank said that IDA lends money to 75 poor countries around the world at low interest rates. More than half of these countries are in Africa. Governments use the money to improve access to healthcare and energy, put money into farms, and build important things like roads.

The president of the World Bank, Ajay Banga, promised to cut down on the “burdensome” rules that guide lending to countries under the IDA. This would make the process more efficient and get money to countries that need it more quickly.

“We believe a simpler and reimagined IDA can be deployed with more focus to make a meaningful impact,” he said.

Politics

Burkina Faso investigating reports of northern killings

Published

1 day ago

April 28, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

A government spokesman has revealed that Burkina Faso is looking into reports that 223 people were killed by the Burkinabe army in two villages in the north in February.

The killing was first reported by the Human Rights Watch (HRW), causing a rift between the junta-led West African state and some foreign media that published the report. The HRW report released on Thursday said that the military had executed residents of Nodin and Soro, including at least 56 children, as part of a campaign against civilians suspected of working with jihadist terrorists. The report was based on interviews with witnesses, members of civil society, and other groups.

Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo, a spokesman for the government, said that HRW’s claims were “peremptory” and that the junta was not unwilling to look into the claimed crimes.

“An investigation has been launched into the killings in Nodin and Soro,” Ouedraogo said in a late-evening statement, quoting a statement from a regional prosecutor on March 1.

Since Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger’s militaries took over in a series of coups from 2020 to 2023, violence in the area has gotten worse. This is because of the ten-year fight with Islamist groups related to Al Qaeda and Islamic State.

Attacks on Burkina Faso got much worse in 2023, with more than 8,000 people killed, according to the U.S.-based crisis-monitoring group ACLED.