There are concerns that the unholy marriage between Egypt and Somalia has jumpstarted moving the Horn of Africa into uncharted waters for the simple fact that Al–Shabaab will be loaded up with quite a lot of weapons that can turn the lives of the inhabitants of the region into a living hell and upside down. In actual fact, the two nations have been doing everything they can to back the region into a corner.
Taking this concrete reality on the ground into account, the wider international community should stand by the side of Ethiopia and pull out all the stops to ensure peace and tranquility in the region standing against the evil deeds of the two nations.
It is certain that Ethiopia, the backbone of the Horn of Africa, has been playing a huge role in bringing about peace and tranquility in the length and breadth of the region fighting against terrorists’ groups.
Unless all the global community stand in unison with Ethiopia, the future of the Horn of Africa will be hung in the balance and leave more questions than answers.
In point of fact, on the heels of the commitment and bravery of Ethiopian National Defense Force, the region has been enjoying a relative peace in defiance of hardships and in the midst of difficulties.
Despite the fact that Ethiopia has been sparing no effort to restore peace and tranquility inevery nook and cranny of the region, Egypt has been bending over backwards to make the existing circumstance jump out of the frying pan into the boiling liquid and exchange a lesser evil for a greater one forming an alliance with Somalia.
Egypt’s intervention in Somalia is posing unprecedented threat to regional stability in the Horn of Africa, Ethiopian Public Diplomacy Institute (EPDI) in Sweden President, Yassin Ahmed warned.
The president told ENA that Egypt was unable to contribute to peace keeping mission in its neighboring countries like Sudan and Libya; and could not even protect its borders from threats. Egypt’s inexperience, rather history of failed peacekeeping missions, renders its efforts in Somalia futile, he recalled.
Yasin cited the absence of Egypt from the African continent for more than three or four decades and its utter failure to keep peace in its neighboring countries. The main reason behind Egypt’s intervention in Somalia is its claim with regard to the Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam (GERD) and a vain attempt to create pressure on Ethiopia, he added.
“Sending weapons to Somalia, which is witnessing internal security challenges, can contribute to undermining security within Somalia; because if these weapons are acquired by some terrorist groups they could pose serious challenge to the region.”
If the two nations fail to divorce almost immediately, the Horn of Africa will end up exchanging one danger for a greater one and one difficulty for another. As nothing makes Egypt happier than moving the region into uncharted territory, it has been making every possible effort to effectuate increasingly broad range of procedures.
In the same way, if Egypt does not distance itself from this morally wrong act and infamous crimes, the region will be at risk of chaos. If the global community as a whole fails to give a wide berth to the region, the Red Sea route will be out of control posing a threat to the survival of most nations across the globe.
On the basis thereof, all nations utilizing the Red Sea routes should stand in unison against the two nations’ evil acts before this goes any further and the situation goes from the deep end to the shallow end.
The Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) made unparalleled sacrifices to bring peace to the people of Somalia, Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) Chief of General Staff Field Marshal Berhanu Jula in the recent past stated.
Field Marshal Berhanu welcomed a battalion of ENDF which successfully completed its peacekeeping mission under the umbrella of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) in Ferfer Woreda of Shebele Zone, Somali State.
Upon receiving the battalion, Field Marshal Birhanu emphasized that Ethiopia sent its army to Somalia for several years prior to and following the resolutions passed by the African Union, and paid incalculable price to protect the Somali people from al- Shabaab attacks.
Field Marshal Berhanu added that the battalion was well-harmonized to the people of Somalia and won their acclaim for its bravery throughout the peacekeeping mission, local media reported.
More to the point, on the basis of layers of conspiracies posed by Egypt, the Horn region directly or indirectly will be affected societally, politically and other things of a similar kind down the road.
In the same manner, the Horn of Africa will be a hotbed of terrorist groups that hail from various parts of the world. This reality on the ground through the passage of time will influence the relative peace and stability of the Horn of Africa and even beyond.
When the people of the region encounter challenges to survive in peace, they will be forced to migrate to Europe, America, Asia and other parts of the world. This in turn will bring about economic burden to the host nations almost immediately. Reasoning from this fact, they will be exposed to extra expenses which are beyond their set target.
No body denies the fact that Ethiopia plays a huge role in ensuring peace, stability, prosperity, security and more of the same.
The country has made massive sacrifices, mobilizing combatants, awarding martial and intelligence provision, and backing up in the area of capacity-building with a focus on fighting against terrorism.
In defiance of Ethiopia’s crystal clear contribution, the country’s adversaries have been making every possible effort to drag through the mud the positive strides witnessed in Somalia.
To everyone’s dismay, Somalia in the present circumstances has set in motion denying the sacrifices paid by Ethiopians turning a blind eye to the unvarnished truth. If it had not been for the country’s active involvement, Somalia would not have reached where it is in the present day.
It is an undeniable fact that the Ethiopian National Defense Forces has played a paramount role in liberating a number of cities in Somalia and ensuring peace and tranquility. A lot of sacrifices have been paid.
Apart from its armed participation, Ethiopia has been expediting economic integration in the Horn of Africa and beyond.
In the face of encountering a broad range of internal and external encounters, Ethiopia has been fully engaged in consolidating peace and stability in the Horn of Africa.
In an exclusive interview with the Ethiopian Press Agency (EPA), an expert in International Affairs, Abdul-Rahman Ahmed (PhD), stated that Egypt has been perpetrating to affect Ethiopia’s interests.
Egypt’s involvement in the Horn of Africa pertained to instigating parties that oppose or in conflict with Ethiopia. This has become clear since the signing of the Ethio-Somaliland Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Ahmed explained.
He noted that Egypt has never criticized the presence of 11 foreign military bases in Djibouti, Somalia, and other locations in HoA, but reacted immediately to Ethiopia’s MoU with Somaliland which sparked a media storm. “Such responses from Egypt are not new when it comes to Ethiopia’s development interests,” he argued.
Egyptian experts, officials and media are actively campaigning against Ethiopia’s cooperation with neighboring nations, which directly threatens country’s interests.
As Egypt has a deep-seated hatred for the development of Ethiopia, the former more often than not has been coming up with layers of intrigues.
It is common knowledge that since the laying of the cornerstone for the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, Egypt left no stone unturned to halt its construction of the flagship project. However, through the determination of the federal government of Ethiopia and its people, it failed to make its dream become a reality.
Since time immemorial, Egypt has been working around the clock to destabilize Ethiopia utilizing myriads of conspiracies forming an alliance with its allies.
Nowadays, it is making an effort to destabilize the Horn of Africa region forming an alliance with Ethiopia’s foes; the wider international community should stand by the side of Ethiopia before the entire situation goes from one misfortune to another.
Editor’s Note: The views entertained in this article do not necessarily reflect the stance of The Ethiopian Herald
BY ADDISALEM MULAT
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 31 OCTOBER 2024
