Field Marshal Birhanu Jula, the commander of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF), and General Abebaw Taddese, his deputy, arrived in Jigjiga, the capital of Ethiopia’s Somali regional state.
Security Chief Dayib Ahmednur, together with other local officials, received the delegation at the Jigjiga airport. Mustafe Omer is the president of the Somali regional state.
The 47th anniversary festivities of the eastern Ethiopian command forces are being held in Jigjiga for the first time, and the high-ranking military leaders are there to take part.
Field Marshal Birhanu Jula is also scheduled to open a new training center at the Garab’ase camp, which is situated on the outskirts of the town, according to the local media.
There is a lot of tension in the Horn of Africa right now, so this visit makes sense. Recently, Ethiopia has sent hundreds of troops and armored vehicles to its border with Somalia in response to Somalia receiving Egyptian arms as part of a new defense pact.
Ethiopia and Somaliland, a breakaway part of Somalia, signed a preliminary deal that has led to increasing regional tensions. Strong opposition has been voiced by Somalia against the agreement, which strengthens connections between Somalia and Egypt and rents coastal land in Somaliland in exchange for possible recognition of its independence.
Egypt worries that tensions in the region could worsen as a result of Ethiopia’s ongoing construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Nile River, which will cut off Egypt’s and Sudan’s water supply.