MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somalia’s cabinet on Monday terminated all port agreements as well as security and defence pacts with the United Arab Emirates, citing findings that Abu Dhabi had been involved in actions undermining the country’s sovereignty.
The information minister, Daud Aways, said the decision followed a thorough review of the matter, after which all UAE-related agreements involving both the federal government and Somalia’s regional states were annulled.
Among the cancelled arrangements were deals granting the UAE a presence at the ports of Bosaso, Kismayo and Berbera. Bilateral military and security agreements were also scrapped. Under those pacts, the UAE had trained thousands of Somali security personnel who supported authorities in Mogadishu in the fight against the Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab and in securing the capital.
The decision comes amid a sharp deterioration in relations between Mogadishu and Abu Dhabi. Somali Guardian reported last week that ties had fallen to their lowest point following Israel’s recognition of the breakaway Somaliland region, with Somali authorities suspecting the UAE of playing a significant role in the decision and lobbying other countries to follow suit.
Tensions were further inflamed by reports that the UAE had facilitated the escape of Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council separatist leader, Aidarous al-Zoubaidi, to Abu Dhabi using Somalia’s territory and airspace.
In response, the Somali government banned all UAE military and cargo aircraft from landing at the country’s airports. Despite this, Abu Dhabi was reported to have violated the order at least twice, on Friday and Saturday. Subsequent reports indicated that the UAE had begun withdrawing its military assets and personnel from Somalia.
The move was welcomed by former Somali president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo and his former intelligence chief, Fahad Yasin, both of whom had long opposed a UAE presence in the country
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