Somalia threatens to leave regional bloc over Kenya dispute

Somalia on Wednesday threatened to withdraw from a regional bloc after the group ruled in favour of Kenya in a diplomatic row between the two countries.

A fact-finding mission was created by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad) last month in an intervention aimed at easing tensions between the two neighbouring countries.

On December 15, Somalia cut diplomatic ties with Kenya and wrote to the regional bloc of eight members, demanding an independent mission to verify claims that Kenya was arming and training militia to fight the Somalia National Army forces stationed in Gedo near their common border.

the team  led by Djiboutian Ambassador to Kenya Yacin Elmi Bouh and his counterpart to Somalia Aden Hassan Aden, also including an Igad observer, said they had found no evidence supporting violations by Kenya.

On Wednesday, Mohamed Abdirazak, the Somalia Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister said his country will reject the report “in its entirety” because it the investigators had been “biased, partisan, unfair, compromised and predetermined to exonerate Kenya.”

“Somalia strongly holds to all its initial accusations against Kenya and will pursue all means to protect her sovereignty,” Abdirazak said in a statement, threatening that his country will withdraw from Igad.

The report criticised Somalia for severing ties with Kenya, arguing the historical problems faced by the two countries could only be solved through deeper diplomatic engagements.

Kenya however, rejected all accusations by Somalia, including that the Kenya Defence Forces serving in the African Union Mission had been abandoning their liberated bases to Al-Shabaab, as well as continual violation of Somali airspace.

Kenya said on Wednesday that it feels vindicated. Its Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted the findings of the team were proof that Somalia’s claims were a political ploy meant to distract the region from security issues.

Somalia’s nascent security architecture has since May 2017 accepted the existence of regional armies alongside the police to strengthen battle against Al-Shabaab.

Olajumoke Adeleke