Addis Ababa – It was recently when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia denied that it received an official message from the government of Somalia about the withdrawal of Ethiopian peacekeeping forces in Somalia.
This statement is in response to the claim made by Somalia’s National Security Adviser on the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from the African Union’s ATMIS mission.
Nebiyu Tedla, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, issued a press release stating that the Ethiopian government was not informed of such withdrawal. He emphasized that there is no official diplomatic relationship from Somalia regarding this issue.
The speaker further mentioned that they will start discussions on how to replace the ATMIS forces, and the phase that was going on is still going on. Thousands of Ethiopian soldiers are in Somalia, which are part of the bilateral agreement between Ethiopia, Somalia, and the African Union mission.
The situation was complicated by the “Sea Gate” agreement recently reached by the government of Ethiopia and Somaliland, which reportedly angered the government of Somalia. As a result, the Somali government has expressed its desire for Ethiopian troops to leave the country by the end of 2024.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia maintains that it has not received any official notification or request regarding the withdrawal of its peacekeeping forces from Somalia. The situation is still sensitive, and it is expected that other diplomatic talks will clarify the position of the two governments on this matter.
