An Egyptian ship has delivered a significant shipment of military equipment to Somalia, security officials in the capital Mogadishu said.
Somali Defense Minister Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur thanked Egypt in a social media post without specifically mentioning the weapons.
This is the second shipment of such weapons from Egypt in a month, as relations between Somalia and neighboring and former ally Ethiopia deteriorate.
Egypt, a long-time rival of Ethiopia, has used the opportunity to move closer to Somalia, fueling concerns about rising tensions in the Horn of Africa.
The military cargo, carried on a warship that arrived on Sunday, consisted of anti-aircraft guns and artillery, Reuters news agency reported, citing information from security and port officials.
A BBC reporter in Mogadishu saw first-hand how weapons were being transported through the city’s streets.
In his post on X, Mr Nur is pictured with his back to the camera, looking at a moored naval vessel.
“Somalia has moved beyond the stage of imposing itself on them and waiting for confirmation from others about who it would do business with,” he wrote.
“We know our own interests, and we will choose between our allies and our enemies. Thank you, Egypt.”
This sentiment is a result of changing alliances in the Horn of Africa.
Ethiopia has for years supported the government in Mogadishu in its fight against the al-Qaeda-linked militant group al-Shabaab.
But Somalia is furious that landlocked Ethiopia earlier this year struck a deal with the self-declared Republic of Somaliland to lease part of its coastline, which Somalia considers part of its territory.
Meanwhile, Addis Ababa and Cairo have been at loggerheads for more than a decade over Ethiopia’s construction of a massive hydroelectric dam on the Nile River, which Egypt sees as a potential threat to the water supply it relies on.
This is not the first time that weapons from Egypt have arrived in Somalia. In August, two Egyptian military aircraft delivered weapons and ammunition to Mogadishu.
This agreement follows one signed earlier in August during a state visit to Cairo by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
Ethiopia said at the time that it could not “stand by and watch as other actors took steps to destabilize the region.”
Somalia’s defence minister hit back, saying Ethiopia should stop “whining” because everyone “will reap what they sow” – a reference to deteriorating diplomatic relations.
Ethiopia currently has 3,000 troops in Somalia as part of an African Union force supporting the government. There is now a plan to add up to 5,000 Egyptian troops to a new AU force by the end of the year, with another 5,000 reportedly deployed separately.
Additional reporting by Teklemariam Bekit in Nairobi
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