Ethiopia-Somaliland deal: President Hassan Sheik fumes, says ‘not an inch of Somalia can  be signed away by anybody’

President Hassan Sheikh Mahmud of Somalia has condemned what it called the illegal infringement of Ethiopia’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity after Addis Ababa struck a deal with the breakaway region of Somaliland.

Somalia had promised to defend its territory by “any legal means” and recalled its ambassador to Ethiopia in response to the deal.

The East African country said it was appealing to the UN, the African Union, the Arab League, and a regional East African bloc, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), “to stand with the right for Somalia to defend its sovereignty and force Ethiopia to adhere to international laws”.

In a post on X, President Hassan Sheikh said the deal is null and void while adding that “not an inch of Somalia can or will be signed away by anybody.”

He said,” As a Government, we have condemned and rejected the illegal infringement of Ethiopia into our national sovereignty and territorial integrity yesterday. Not an inch of Somalia can or will be signed away by anybody. Somalia belongs to the Somali people. This is final.”

The memorandum of understanding signed by the Ethiopian prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, and the Somaliland leader, Muse Bihi Abdi, would give Ethiopia access to the port of Berbera for trade and military purposes.

The Somaliland leader, Muse Bihi said the agreement involved international recognition.

Ethiopian officials have yet to announce the full details of the agreement but said the deal was meant to “advance mutual interests through cooperation on the basis of reciprocity”.

Meanwhile, Hamza Abdi Barre, the prime minister of Somalia, has called for calm in the face rising diplomatic tension in the region.

“I want to assure you that we are committed to defending the country, we will not allow an inch of land, sea and skies to be violated,” he said. “We will defend our land with any legal means possible … We must unite and forget about our differences to defend our land, integrity and sovereignty.”

Since declaring independence from Somalia in 1991, Somaliland has been pursuing complete statehood, a move that has been strongly resisted by Mogadishu and is not acknowledged internationally.