Somalia is mulling reversing a decision to exclude Ethiopia from a multinational force fighting al-Shabab terrorists, another indication that diplomatic tensions between the two nations are easing.
Ethiopian Defense Minister Aisha Mohammed Mussa traveled to the Somali capital, Mogadishu, for talks on Thursday about her country’s participation in the mission, Somali Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ali Balcad said by phone, according to a report in Bloomberg.
Ethiopia has up to 10,000 troops in Somalia to fight al-Shabab terrorists, but Mogadishu has threatened to expel them if Addis Ababa does not renounce an agreement it reached a year ago with the breakaway Somaliland region.
The preliminary deal called for Somaliland to lease a stretch of coastline for an Ethiopian naval base and commercial port in exchange for possible recognition of Somaliland’s independence.
Somaliland has had effective autonomy since 1991 but its independence has not been recognized by any other country. Mogadishu considers it an integral part of its territory and called its deal with Ethiopia an act of aggression.
Türkiye stepped in to mediate in July, holding three previous rounds of talks – two in Ankara and one in New York – before last week’s breakthrough, which won praise from the African Union, Washington and Brussels.
Last month, Ethiopia and Somalia agreed to resolve their differences after talks brokered by Türkiye in Ankara.
According to the Ethiopia-Somalia Ankara Declaration, the two parties decided to launch technical negotiations facilitated by Türkiye by the end of February 2025 and conclude them within four months. They also agreed to abandon differences of opinion and contentious issues and to move decisively toward shared prosperity.
The accord opens the way for Ethiopia’s inclusion in the so-called African Union Support and Stabilization Mission, Balcad said.
“Given that the contentious issues between Somalia and Ethiopia have been resolved through the Ankara Declaration, Somalia is ready to reconsider the inclusion of the Ethiopian National Defense Force in the upcoming AUSSOM mission,” he said.
Diplomats had warned that Ethiopia’s exclusion from the force risked escalating into conflict between the two nations – Addis Ababa has been a target of attacks by al-Shabab and has sought to extend its longstanding participation in the mission.
The United Nations Security Council agreed on Dec. 27 to renew the peacekeeping force’s mandate in Somalia. However, it failed to come up with “sustainable financing mechanisms” to fund the operation, according to a January report by Balqiis Insights, a Mogadishu-based think tank.
Al-Shabab, an al-Qaida affiliate, has been waging an insurgency since 2007.
The dispute has also raised concerns about broader instability in the Horn of Africa. Somalia responded to the Somaliland deal by drawing closer to Ethiopia’s traditional rivals, Egypt and Eritrea.