Somalia’s president accuses Ethiopia of trying to annex territory with Somaliland sea deal

By The Associated Press

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has accused Ethiopia of trying to annex part of his country’s territory by signing a sea access deal with the breakaway region of Somaliland. Mohamud said on Saturday that the agreement Ethiopia and Somaliland signed on Jan. 1 “is nothing more than annexing part of Somalia to Ethiopia, and changing the borders of Somalia.” Neither side has made the deal’s terms public, but it appears to give landlocked Ethiopia the right to build a port in Somaliland. Somaliland has de facto independence, but Somalia still claims sovereignty over it. Somalia has suggested it would be prepared to go to war to stop Ethiopia from building a port there.