Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has rejected an agreement between Ethiopia and the breakaway region of Somaliland that grants Ethiopia access to the coast, Associated Press reports.
Somaliland, which broke away from Somalia in 1991, maintained its own government despite lacking international recognition. The country has agreed to lease a 20-kilometer coastline to Ethiopia for a marine base and anticipated recognition as a separate nation by Ethiopia in return.
Mohamud called it a violation of international law and a compromise of Somalia’s sovereignty. He also voiced concerns about Ethiopia’s presence potentially fueling extremism, recalling the incursion by Ethiopia to fight the Islamic Courth Union in 2006 that led to the rise of the extremist group al-Shabab.
