Ethiopia said it held talks Monday on military cooperation with Somaliland, just a week after a deal with the breakaway Somali region on sea access stoked tensions in the Horn of Africa. Somalia is seeking international support over the controversial January 1 agreement between Ethiopia and Somaliland -- a separatist region over which Mogadishu exercises little real authority. The central government has branded the memorandum of understanding (MoU), which gives landlocked Ethiopia access to the Red Sea via Somaliland, an act of "aggression" and a violation of its sovereignty. The January 1 pact gives Ethiopia access to commercial maritime services and a military base, with Somaliland leasing it 20 kilometres (12 miles) of coastline for 50 years. Just days before the Ethiopia deal, Djibouti had hosted talks that saw Somalia and Somaliland agree to resume dialogue after years of stalemate.

Source: Ethiopian News January 08, 2024 19:20 UTC