Egypt Sends Somalia Military Aid as Territorial Feud Simmers

(Bloomberg) -- Egypt said it sent military aid to Somalia, the latest show of support for the Horn of Africa nation that’s embroiled in a feud with neighboring Ethiopia over a breakaway territory.

Most Read from Bloomberg

A shipment that recently arrived in the capital, Mogadishu, is part of backing “for the efforts of sisterly Somalia to achieve security and stability, combat terrorism” and preserve its sovereignty and unity, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said Monday in a brief statement.

The North African nation didn’t elaborate on the assistance, but said it would help build the Somali army’s capabilities and was part of Egypt’s obligations under a military-cooperation protocol signed in August.

That pact came in the wake of a planned deal by landlocked Ethiopia to formally recognize Somaliland — which declared independence from Somalia three decades ago — in return for access to a port and a military base on the Gulf of Aden. Somalia, which regards Somaliland as part of its territory, was infuriated by the proposal.

Somaliland’s foreign ministry said on Monday it was “deeply alarmed by the transfer of these weapons,” alleging “the Mogadishu administration currently lacks the capacity to effectively manage or safeguard such a large cache of military equipment.”

Egypt also delivered an arms shipment to Somalia last month and will provide training to its troops, Somalia’s foreign minister said at the time.

Ethiopia and Egypt are also at loggerheads over a giant hydropower dam that Addis Ababa has built on the Nile River’s main tributary. Cairo has for years expressed concern the reservoir may affect the flow of its main source of fresh water.

--With assistance from Simon Marks and Mohammed Omar Ahmed.

(Updates with comment from Somaliland in fifth paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.