Security officials have announced that Egypt and Somalia would be participating in combined military drills this month that will involve land, aviation, and marine forces. This comes after Egypt just signed a new cooperation deal to send troops and military hardware to Somalia.
According to a regional security official, “the drills will send a clear and loud message about our firm commitment to cooperate and protect Somalia.”
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is the source of escalating tensions between Ethiopia and the United States. Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Atty of Egypt has written to the UN Security Council to express outrage against Ethiopia’s “unilateral” activities regarding the dam, claiming that Ethiopia’s strategy “threatens regional stability.”
Ethiopia has taken serious exception to Egypt’s military involvement in Somalia, seeing it as a possible source of instability for the Horn of Africa. Egypt’s actions could result in “uncharted waters” of instability in the region, Addis Abeba has warned. Somalia’s objections to Ethiopia’s agreement with Somaliland, which it views as an encroachment on its sovereignty, further complicate the issue.