Somalia

Somalia has expelled the Ethiopian ambassador, ordered the closure of two Ethiopian consulates and recalled its own ambassador over Addis Ababa's plan to build a naval base in the breakaway region of Somaliland. 

The announcement comes as Somalia is locked in a fierce dispute with Ethiopia over a maritime deal that Addis Ababa signed with the breakaway region of Somaliland in January -- raising tensions in the Horn of Africa.

Somalia’s semi-autonomous region of Puntland is criticizing changes made by the federal parliament to the country’s provisional constitution and announced it is withdrawing recognition for federal government institutions.

Somalia and Turkey recently announced that they would expand the terms of a defence agreement first signed on 8 February 2024 to include the maritime sector. This came as tensions rose between Somalia and landlocked Ethiopia.

The African Union (AU) delegation on Friday wrapped up a five-day working visit to Somalia, reaffirming the AU's commitment to completing the security transition in the country by the end of 2024.

Egypt will not allow any threat to Somalia, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Sunday after Ethiopia said it would consider recognising an independence claim by Somaliland in a deal that would give it access to a sea port. The remarks were the strongest yet made on the issue by Egypt, which already has frosty relations with Ethiopia, and were a sign that Cairo may get involved in a dispute that has raised fresh tensions in the volatile Horn of Africa.

Somalia said on Thursday there was no room for mediation in a dispute with Ethiopia unless Addis Ababa cancelled a controversial maritime deal with the breakaway region of Somaliland.

The African Union's conflict resolution body met on Wednesday amid escalating tensions between Ethiopia and Somalia over a coastline deal and called for "restraint" between the parties.

A UN helicopter crash-landed in an area controlled by armed Islamists in Somalia after its main rotor blade was hit by an object, a UN source has said.

Last year saw the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) conduct more than 200 operations against al-Shabaab in furtherance of a mission priority to “degrade” the Somalia-based Sunni Islamist military and political organisation, which is also active elsewhere in East Africa. ATMIS Force Commander Lieutenant General Sam Okiding said this would continue in 2024 along with ongoing efforts to improve the capability of the Somali Security Forces (SSF).