El Sisi issues warning to Ethiopia over Somaliland Red Sea deal

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi appeared to warn Ethiopia over its preliminary deal with Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland to gain access to the Red Sea.

“Let me state this very clearly: Egypt will not allow anyone to breach or threaten Somalia’s security … no one should test Egypt’s resolve or try to threaten its brotherly nations, especially if its brothers asked it to intervene,” Mr El Sisi said yesterday.

He made the comments after talks in Cairo with Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, less than three weeks after Ethiopia and Somaliland signed an agreement that would grant Addis Ababa access to a 20km stretch of Red Sea coastline.

Somalia opposes the independence of Somaliland and has reacted furiously to the deal.

Somaliland broke away from Somalia in 1991, but remains internationally unrecognised.

It sits at a strategic location close to the Bay of Aden and the southern mouth of the Red Sea.

Mr El Sisi said Ethiopia should aim to secure access to the Red Sea through “traditional channels” with Djibouti, Somalia and Eritrea.

“No one will object to that, but no one will tolerate anyone pouncing on the territory of others and trying to control it,” he said.

“Be reassured that, with the grace of God, we are behind you,” he told Mr Mohamud.

The Ethiopia-Somaliland agreement was strongly condemned by the Arab League – of which Somalia is a member – during an emergency meeting of its foreign ministers last week.

Somalia says the agreement has also led to protests across Somaliland, with citizens divided over the deal. Some see potential economic benefits, while others fear compromising their sovereignty.

Last week, Mogadishu said the deal betrayed Ethiopia’s ambitions to hurt Arab national security.

The Ethiopian government maintains that access to the Red Sea is an existential necessity for the country.

Egypt and Ethiopia have clashed for years over Addis Ababa’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam project, which Cairo says will reduce its share of the Nile’s waters.

Egypt, which has 1,500km of Red Sea coastline, depends on the Nile for almost all of its fresh water needs.

Cairo also fears that, should Ethiopia gain access to the Red Sea, it may be tempted to establish a military presence that could threaten Egyptian interests in the strategic waterway.

Egypt’s state-controlled media has accused Ethiopia of using its influence in the Horn of Africa to undermine Cairo’s interests on behalf of other nations, primarily Israel.