Somalia blocks Ethiopian flight to Somaliland amid port dispute

Somalia’s government denied entry by a flight carrying Ethiopian officials to the breakaway region of Somaliland, ratcheting up tension between the neighboring countries over a proposed port deal.

The Somali authorities turned back Ethiopian Airlines flight ET8372 “after it became clear that the aircraft did not have any permission to use Somali air space,” the Somalia Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement on Wednesday. The flight’s passengers included “VIP Ethiopian delegates” en route to the Somaliland capital of Hargeisa, CAA Director-General Ahmed Moalim said by phone, without identifying them.

Relations between the two nations have been strained since Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced on Jan. 1 that his country will recognize Somaliland as a sovereign state and hand over an unspecified stake in state-owned Ethiopian Airlines Group in return for access to the Red Sea. The accord will enable Addis Ababa to lease land from Somaliland that it can use to establish a military base and for commercial maritime purposes.

Somalia lays sovereign claim to Somaliland and has threatened military retaliation should Ethiopia advance with its plans. Officials from Egypt, Eritrea and Saudi Arabia have either visited Somalia or issued statements in support of its sovereignty since the agreement was signed.

Ethiopian Airlines operates a commercial service between Addis Ababa and Hargeisa. Flight ET8372 took off from the Ethiopian capital at 8:32 a.m. local time, turned back before it reached the Somali border, and landed again at 10:20 a.m., according to the aircraft-tracker FlightRadar24’s website. 

Ethiopian Airlines and Ethiopian State Minister for Government Communication Services Selamawit Kassa didn’t respond to a request for comment. Somaliland officials declined to comment on the planned delegation, or who was part of the trip citing security reasons.

A former British protectorate, Somaliland united with Italian Somalia in 1960 after independence, before breaking away in 1991 after a civil war erupted. 

It holds elections, issues its own passports, prints its own currency and has signed international investment deals, including with Dubai’s DP World Ltd. to expand its main port, and with London-based Genel Energy Plc for oil exploration. But it’s failed to gain international recognition that would allow it to receive funding and aid from institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, with only Taiwan having recognized its independence.

Arab League

Egypt’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday it “will spare no effort” in its support of Somalia. Egypt invites “all Arab and international parties to carry out their responsibility to express their respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia,” it said. The message came as foreign ministers from the 22-member Arab League held a virtual meeting on Ethiopia’s deal with Somaliland.

The US is concerned that Ethiopia’s deal to access the Red Sea may undermine efforts to contain the Islamist military group al-Shabaab, which controls parts of Somalia and has been fighting to overthrow the government.

“We support Somalia’s sovereignty, their territorial integrity,” John Kirby, a spokesman the US National Security Council, told reporters in Washington on Tuesday. “What we’re particularly concerned about is that this MOU recently now inked between Ethiopia and Somaliland threatens to disrupt the fight that Somalis, Africans, and regional international partners, including us, are waging against al-Shabaab. And al-Shabaab remains a viable terrorist threat in the region, without question.”