Politics

Somalia receives additional arms from an Egyptian vessel

Published

3 months ago

September 23, 2024

According to port and military officials on Monday, an Egyptian cruiser has sent a second significant cache of weapons, including artillery and anti-aircraft guns, to Somalia. This development is expected to increase tensions between Ethiopia and the two countries.

Due to their mutual suspicion of Ethiopia, Egypt and Somalia have strengthened their ties this year. As a result, Cairo has sent multiple planeloads of weapons to Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, following the signing of a cooperative security agreement in August.

By entering into a tentative agreement in January to lease land for a port in exchange for the potential recognition of Somaliland’s independence from Somalia, Ethiopia infuriated Mogadishu. Egypt has denounced the Somaliland agreement. Egypt and Ethiopia have conflicted for years over Addis Ababa’s development of a massive hydro project on the Nile River’s headwaters.

According to a diplomat, the Egyptian warship started unloading the weaponry on Sunday. According to two port employees and two military officials who spoke to Reuters, security personnel closed off the quayside and adjacent roads on Sunday and Monday while convoys transported the weapons to a building housing the defence ministry and neighbouring military outposts.

An official working for Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre, Nasra Bashir Ali, shared a picture of Defence Minister Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur observing the ship’s unloading on her X account.

Requests for comment from Egyptian officials were met with a delay or a refusal to comment.

Due to the security situation in the area, Egypt’s embassy in Mogadishu issued a warning to its people on Sunday, according to Egyptian media.

While an estimated 5,000–7,000 troops are stationed in other regions by a bilateral arrangement, Ethiopia maintains a minimum of 3,000 soldiers in Somalia as part of an African Union peacekeeping mission (ATMIS) battling Islamist terrorists.

Declaring that the agreement on Somaliland is an attack on its sovereignty, Somalia demands that all Ethiopian forces withdraw by year’s end, barring Addis Ababa from abandoning the arrangement.

The African Union reported in July that Egypt had offered to send troops to a new peacekeeping operation in Somalia, though Cairo has not made a public statement on the subject.

The Ethiopian government has stated in the past that it cannot remain silent while “other actors” take action to destabilise the region, but it did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

Politics

Burkina Faso releases 4 French spies after Moroccan intervention

Published

2 days ago

December 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In a diplomatic spat over their imprisonment, France and Morocco announced Thursday that four French nationals detained in Burkina Faso for a year had been freed after mediation from Morocco.

They were spies, according to a prior statement made by the director of France’s foreign intelligence organisation, the DGSE.

A request for comment was not answered by the DGSE or a representative of the French military, which is in charge of the agency.

Since December 2023, they have been held in Ouagadougou.

President Emmanuel Macron hailed King Mohammed of Morocco on Wednesday for his intervention, “which made possible the liberation of our four countrymen who had been held in Burkina Faso for a year,” according to a statement from the French administration.

King Mohammed and President Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso were also commended by Morocco’s foreign ministry, which stated that “this humanitarian act” was made possible by their positive bilateral ties.

In October, France made peace with Morocco, one of its former protectorates, after three years of hostilities between Paris and Rabat stoked by immigration concerns and the disputed Western Sahara region.

Morocco offers Burkina Faso and other military-ruled Sahel republics Atlantic trade.

However, France’s relations with former West and Central African colonies, such as Burkina Faso, remain difficult. In Ouagadougou, French troops and diplomats were ejected, the defence attache and ambassador were asked to depart, and certain French media were suspended.

The military junta that took control in 2022 in Burkina Faso has been criticized by international rights groups for cracking down on free expression and harassing dissidents to handle a security crisis precipitated by Al Qaeda and Islamic State extremists.

Politics

Ghana: President-elect Mahama appoints anti-corruption team

Published

3 days ago

December 19, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to a statement released by his transition team on Wednesday, Ghana’s President-elect, John Dramani Mahama, has designated an anti-corruption committee to investigate allegations of wrongdoing.

When he takes office next month, Mahama, the leading opposition candidate in the presidential election held on December 7 and who received almost 56% of the vote, has pledged to reclaim the proceeds of corruption and hold those responsible for it accountable.

In anticipation, an anti-graft squad has been established. The parliament’s Committee on Assurances, which has previously raised suspicions of governmental corruption, is chaired by MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwah.

An investigative journalist, a private attorney, a former auditor general, and a former police officer with experience in high-profile robbery cases make up the other three members.

After looking into alleged financial irregularities that took place during the previous administration, Daniel Dumelovo, the former auditor general, was fired.

Recovering lost assets and fighting corruption were two of Mahama’s main campaign pledges.

“He intends to hit the ground running on these commitments,” the statement said.

Eight years after leaving office, former President Mahama is back to head the West African country. Despite not being personally contaminated, he faced criticism during his 2012–2016 administration due to claims of political corruption.