Ethiopia-Somaliland Port Deal Makes Waves In Horn Of Africa

BBC: Ethiopia-Somaliland deal makes waves in Horn of Africa 

The defence minister of the self-declared republic of Somaliland has become the latest casualty of the row over a controversial agreement that is causing ructions in the Horn of Africa. 

Abdiqani Mohamoud Ateye resigned saying that cabinet ministers should have been consulted over a deal that Somaliland struck with Ethiopia that could see it leasing part of its coastline to its landlocked neighbour. 

Somalia - which considers Somaliland to be part of its territory - reacted angrily to the 1 January deal, calling it an act of aggression. 

 Both the US and the African Union have backed the territorial integrity of Somalia and urged all parties to cool tensions.

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WNU Editor: Not everyone is on board in Somaliland on this deal .... Somaliland’s defense minister resigns over deal to give Ethiopia access to the region’s coastline (AP). 

Ethiopia-Somaliland Port Deal Makes Waves In Horn Of Africa  

Somaliland Deal to Grant Ethiopia Red Sea Access Draws Condemnation -- New York Times  

Somalia dismisses Ethiopia-Somaliland coastline deal, says it compromises sovereignty -- AP  

Somalia ‘nullifies’ port agreement between Ethiopia and Somaliland -- The Guardian  

Somalia calls Ethiopia-Somaliland agreement act of aggression -- BBC  

Ethiopia-Somaliland army chiefs meet amid regional tensions -- BBC 

Somaliland shakes up the Horn of Africa -- GZero  

Why is Somalia so angry about Ethiopia’s new Red Sea port deal? -- Al Jazeera

Ethiopian Troops Enter Somalia -- News Updates November 21, 2011

Image: The Shabab have one outpost left in Mogadishu, the capital. The New York Times

Ethiopian Troops Said To Enter Somalia, Opening New Front Against Militants -- New York Times

NAIROBI, Kenya — Witnesses along the drought-stricken Ethiopia-Somalia border reported Sunday that hundreds of Ethiopian troops had crossed into Somalia with armored personnel carriers, heavy artillery and tanks, opening a new front in an intensifying international offensive against the Shabab militant group.

The Islamist insurgents of the Shabab are already battling Kenyan forces in southern Somalia and African Union peacekeepers in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. So far the reaction among Somalis, though, has been the polar opposite of what happened a few years ago, when Ethiopian troops invaded Somalia in 2006 and occupied the country for about two years, turning the population against them and fueling the rise of the Shabab

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More News On Ethiopia's Military Incursion Into Somalia

Somali government says Ethiopian troops are not authorized to cross into Somalia -- Washington Post/AP
Somali rebels pull out as Ethiopian troops return -- Reuters
Noose tightens on Somali rebels as Ethiopia returns -- AFP
Ethiopian tanks push into Somalia to attack Islamists -- Sydney Morning Herald
Somali Rebels Say Ethiopian Incursion Shows Kenya Failing -- New York Times/Reuters
Somalia Would Accept Ethiopian Force Backed by African Union -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Witnesses: Ethiopian Troops Enter Somali Town -- New York Times/AP
Somalia Confirms Ethiopian Troop Presence -- Voice of America

Ethiopian Troops Enter Somalia

Witnesses: Ethiopian Troops Enter Somali Town -- ABC News/AP

A convoy of Ethiopian troops entered Somalia on Sunday, residents said, in a possible attempt to open a third front against al-Qaida-linked Somali insurgents.

The incursion into the central town of Guriel appears to be the largest movement of Ethiopian troops into Somalia since an unpopular Ethiopian invasion nearly five years ago.

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More News On Ethiopia`s Military Incursion Into Somalia

Witnesses: Ethiopian troops enter Somali town -- AP
Ethiopian troops 'cross border into Somalia' -- BBC
Ethiopian Troops Move Into Somalia-Witnesses -- New York Times/Reuters
Reports: Ethiopian Troops Enter Somalia -- Voice of America
Ethioipia May Join Battle Against Somalia’s Al-Shabab -- Voice of America
Somalia's Shebab vow to defeat Ethiopian forces -- AFP
Somali Islamists laud reported Ethiopian incursion -- Reuters
Factbox: Foreign troop deployments in Somalia -- Reuters

Ethiopia Dismisses Somali Threat, Violence Flares

From Reuters:

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia Wednesday dismissed a threat of invasion from Somalia's hardline Islamist insurgents saying the rebels posed no clear and present danger.

Ethiopian troops invaded Somalia in 2006 to oust an Islamist movement from the capital Mogadishu. That sparked an insurgency that is still raging, despite the troops' withdrawal in January.

Al Qaeda-linked fighters in Somalia's al Shabaab rebel group are battling to oust President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, himself a former Islamist insurgent who joined a peace process last year.

Tuesday, al Shabaab threatened to attack Ethiopia, urging its fighters to wage jihad against its neighbor.

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More News On The Conflict Between Ethiopia And Somali's Islamists

'Why I took up arms against Ethiopia' -- BBC
Ethiopia Downplays Somali Rebel Threat -- Voice of America
Ethiopia dismisses Somali Islamist attack threat -- Reuters
Ethiopia will stay out of Somalia despite threat -- AFP
Somalis exodus to Ethiopia -- Ethiopian Review

Ethiopian Troops Entering Somalia: Eyewitness Reports

Ethiopian Forces Back In Somalia, Locals Say -- CNN

(CNN) -- Ethiopian forces returned to Somalia on Tuesday, seizing control of a Somali border town, a local journalist told CNN.

The Ethiopians rolled into the town of Kalabeyr early Tuesday in 15 military vehicles, some equipped with heavy artillery, a town elder told the journalist. They established vehicle checkpoints throughout the town and positioned themselves in the surrounding mountains, according to the journalist, who spoke to CNN from a nearby town.

Both Somalia and Ethiopia have denied the reports.

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More News On Somalia's Civil War And Eyewitness Reports Of Ethiopian Soldiers

Ethiopia troops 'back in Somalia' -- BBC
Ethopian troops 'return to Somalia' -- Al Jazeera
Ethiopian forces return to Somalia: witnesses -- AFP
Ethiopian troops re-enter Somalia: witnesses -- ABC News (Australia)
Ethiopia denies Somali deployment -- Press TV

Ethiopia's PM Declares 'Mission Accomplished' in Somalia

Prime Minister of Ethiopia Meles Zenawi (File Photo)

From Voice Of America:

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has declared "mission accomplished" in Somalia, and told parliament Ethiopian troops will be home from their controversial two-year military mission within weeks. Mr. Meles also pledged Ethiopia would guarantee the safety of African Union peacekeepers in Somalia, should they choose to withdraw.

The Ethiopian leader admitted it has been impossible to crush the Islamist extremist al-Shabab forces and establish a stable government in the two years since he dispatched troops to neighboring Somalia. But he said that was not Ethiopia's objective.

That, he said, is the job of the United Nations, which gave legitimacy to Somalia's Transitional Federal Government; the African Union, which initially pledged to send 8,000 peacekeepers that he thought would quickly replace Ethiopian soldiers; and the international community.

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My Comment: The mission is far from accomplished.

Feeding Somalia To The Wolves?

Ethiopian tanks in Somalia. Ethiopia bought much of its military equipment from
the former Soviet Union and relies on North Korean parts.

Ethiopia Hints At Leaving Somalia -- BBC News

Ethiopia is prepared to withdraw troops from Somalia even if the interim government is not stable, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has said.

Ethiopia invaded its neighbour in 2006 to oust an Islamist militia and re-install the transitional government.

He told the UK's Financial Times paper that financial pressures had to be taken into account and said the commitment was not open ended.

The withdrawal of Ethiopians is a key demand of the Islamist insurgents.

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My Comment: Leaving Somalia as a bastion for Islamic fundamentalism and its supporters will guarantee military intervention in the future.