Somalia expels Ethiopian diplomat

 

Ethiopia Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia Taye Atske Selassie Made, Turkish Minister Hakan Fidan and Somalia Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Moalim Fiqi held a joint press conference after their meeting in Ankara, Turkiye on August 13, 2024. [AFP]

Somalia ordered the expulsion of a senior diplomat from the Ethiopian embassy on Tuesday in the latest sign of deteriorating relations between the East African neighbours.

Tensions have been high between the two countries since Ethiopia struck a deal in January to establish a port in the breakaway Somali region of Somaliland.

The region has effectively run its own affairs for three decades but its independence is not recognised by any state.

Somalia already expelled Ethiopia's ambassador in April and recalled its own envoy from Addis Ababa.

On Tuesday, its foreign ministry announced in a statement that it was similarly giving Ali Mohamad Adan, who had the rank of counsellor II at the Ethiopian embassy, 72 hours to leave Somalia.

It did not give any specific reasons, but said Adan had failed "to respect the laws of the host nation and abstain from involvement in its internal affairs".

Ethiopia's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AFP.

Somalia is also set to exclude Ethiopian troops from a new African Union peacekeeping force against Islamist Al-Shabaab insurgents that is due to be deployed on January 1.

"Ethiopia's recent unilateral actions, including an illegal agreement with Somalia's northern region, violate our sovereignty and erode the trust essential for peacekeeping," the foreign ministry said in a statement on October 23.