January 4, 2024Somalia is receiving an outpouring of support following a controversial deal struck between neighboring Ethiopia and the breakaway region of Somaliland earlier this week. Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somaliland leader Muse Bihi Abdi signed on Monday a memorandum of understanding that would give Ethiopia access to the Red Sea. Under the deal, Ethiopia will be allowed to use the port of Berbera in the breakaway region, and in exchange, Addis Ababa will recognize Somaliland as an independent state. Somalia vehemently rejected the deal, describing it as a violation of its own sovereignty. Egypt, which is at odds with Ethiopia over the latter’s controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), also condemned the deal and stressed the need to respect Somalia's territorial integrity.
