Reuters :
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said his country would “defend itself” if Ethiopia goes ahead with a deal to set up a naval base in the breakaway region of Somaliland and possibly recognise the territory as an independent state.
Landlocked Ethiopia agreed a memorandum of understanding on Jan. 1 to lease 20 km (12 miles) of coastline in Somaliland – a territory that Somalia says it owns, even though the northern region has enjoyed effective autonomy since 1991.
Ethiopia said it wants to set up a naval base there and offered possible recognition of Somaliland in exchange – prompting a defiant response from Somalia and fears the deal could further destabilise the Horn of Africa.
“If Ethiopia insists, Somalia will resist and will refuse,” Mohamud told Reuters on Tuesday in an interview at the heavily fortified presidential palace in Mogadishu.