MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Talks between Somalia and Ethiopia have commenced to discover the potential integration of the Ethiopian Protection Forces into the newly operational African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia, which launched on Wednesday. Nevertheless, underlying rivalry persists, with extra negotiations slated to resolve the continuing impasse.
On Thursday, Ethiopia’s Protection Minister Aisha Mohammed, joined by State Minister of Overseas Affairs Mesganu Arga and high-ranking officers from the military and intelligence departments, convened with Somalia’s Protection Minister Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur, State Minister of Overseas Affairs Ali Mohamed Omar, and different senior officers in Mogadishu.
Somali officers had beforehand introduced the profitable procurement of 11,000 troops from Uganda, Djibouti, and Kenya for AUSSOM, signaling that Ethiopia could not play a job within the mission. Nevertheless, a senior Somali official confirmed to VOA Horn of Africa that the potential participation of Ethiopian forces was completely mentioned throughout the talks.
“We held productive discussions on key points, together with post-ATMIS troop composition and the potential function of the Ethiopian Nationwide Protection Forces (ENDF). Somalia knowledgeable the Ethiopian facet that different Troop Accomplice Nations have been allotted to positions beforehand held by ENDF,” the official acknowledged.
A central level of rivalry was Somalia’s proposal to relocate Ethiopian troops from particular cities, even when they’re permitted to hitch AUSSOM. Ethiopian officers expressed dissatisfaction with the suggestion, citing the logistical challenges of redeploying forces from areas the place they’ve been stationed for an prolonged interval.
“The Ethiopian delegation famous the challenges of relocating their forces from areas the place they’ve operated for an prolonged interval. Whereas no last determination was made, a Somali delegation will journey to Addis Ababa within the close to future to finalize the main points. The talks mirrored a shared dedication to mutual understanding and collaboration,” the official added.
The Ethiopian delegation left Somalia late Thursday, and additional negotiations are anticipated within the coming weeks to resolve the excellent points associated to troop deployment.
These ongoing talks underscore the complexity of finalizing troop compositions for AUSSOM and spotlight the fragile negotiations between Somalia and Ethiopia.
