MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somalia says Egypt has offered to deploy peacekeepers to the Horn of Africa in a security partnership that comes as the mandate of a longtime group of African Union peacekeepers expires.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi attended a summit in the Eritrean capital Asmara on Thursday, where he and the leaders of Somalia and Eritrea pledged strong cooperation on regional security.
Somali authorities said in a statement at the end of the summit that they welcomed Egypt’s offer to deploy troops to Somalia as part of a stabilization force when the current African Union force is disbanded in December.
The statement said the leaders welcomed the decision of the African Union Peace and Security Council to launch the African Union Stabilization Support Mission in Somalia, or AUSSOM, under whose mandate the Egyptians or others would be deployed.
A separate statement after the summit, signed by representatives of Somalia, Egypt and Eritrea, reaffirmed Somalia’s sovereign right to determine the composition, tasks and deployment timeline for AUSSOM forces.
The Federal Government of Somalia is supported by a African Union Peacekeeping Mission since 2007 in the fight against the Islamic extremist group al-Shababwhich has ties to Al-Qaeda and is responsible for deadly attacks in the country.
The Asmara summit followed a period of tension in the region due to disputes pitting Ethiopia against others.
The first dispute – between Ethiopia and Egypt – is over Ethiopia’s construction of a $4 billion dam on the Blue Nilea major tributary of the Nile River. Egypt fears this will have a devastating effect on Egypt’s downstream water and irrigation supplies unless Ethiopia takes its needs into account. Ethiopia plans to use the dam to generate much-needed electricity.
The second dispute – between Ethiopia and Somalia – concerns Somaliland, the breakaway region of Somalia.
Somalia has tried to block landlocked Ethiopia’s continued attempts to gain access to the Red Sea controversial agreement with Somaliland to lease a tract of land along the coastline, where Ethiopia would establish a naval base. In return, Ethiopia would recognize Somaliland as an independent country, Somaliland authorities said.
Somaliland seceded from Somalia more than thirty years ago, but is not recognized as an independent state by the African Union or the United Nations. Somalia still considers Somaliland part of its territory.