Qatar crisis washes up on Somalia’s shores

In 1991, Somali president Siad Barre was ousted, prompting warlords to cleave the country apart.

Although an internationally backed government was established in 2012, Somalia is bedevilled by humanitarian crises and a struggle against Al Shabab extremists.

The authority of the central government does not extend far beyond the capital, Mogadishu. It is in this context that Somalia’s row with the UAE should be assessed.

Ten months have passed since Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain severed diplomatic ties with Qatar. Reliant on foreign investment and aid, Somalia has imported the crisis.

On April 8, Somali security forces raided a UAE jet at Mogadishu airport, seizing US$9.6 million (Dh35.3m) in cash destined for the Puntland Maritime Police Force, an anti-piracy unit of the Somali army backed by the Emirates since 2014. In response, the UAE ended its military training programme in Somalia.

Immediately thereafter, Qatar donated 30 buses and two cranes to Mogadishu regional officials. “That is not coincidental,” said Rashid Abdi, Horn of Africa project director at the International Crisis Group.

The gesture is emblematic of pressures on Somalia. Turkey operates a huge military base in Mogadishu, whose port is run by Al Bayrak, a Turkish corporation.

Turkey’s ally, Qatar, whose airline used Somali airspace when the boycott began, has sought to involve itself in Somali politics, according to analyst Faisal Roble.

Saudi Arabia, which imports 80 per cent of Somalia’s livestock, donated $50m in 2016 after Mogadishu severed ties with Iran. Meanwhile, the UAE, which has been training and paying 2,407 Somali troops, is most active in the autonomous region of Puntland, whose government yesterday appealed to the Emirates to remain engaged.

As Somalia’s fortunes faltered, economic imperatives have compelled its regions to accept aid and investment from many players. After the Gulf dispute, such investment brought into question the central government’s promise to remain neutral.

The plane seizure followed months of deteriorating ties between Abu Dhabi and Mogadishu. Somali politicians were angered by the deal between Dubai’s DP World, the government of breakaway Somaliland and landlocked Ethiopia over control of a port at Berbera.

The UAE is building a military base in Berbera, Somaliland, 260 kilometres from Yemen. It has Africa’s longest runway.

Somali politicians said the deal was a breach of its sovereignty.

“There are many people here in the UAE who feel deeply invested in Somalia’s future and stability and are saddened by developments,” said Elizabeth Dickinson, senior Arabian Peninsula analyst at ICG.

Somalia’s internal fragility has sucked it into a regional dispute, jeopardising aid and investment. It is a lesson for volatile nations across the Horn and beyond.