Somalia: MoU inked between Ethiopia, Somaliland "invalid, illegal"

CAIRO, Feb 11 (KUNA) -- Somalia on Sunday utterly rejected the "invalid" memo inked between Ethiopia and Somaliland last January as it constituted explicit breach of the Somalia's sovereignty and territorial sanctity.
The foreign ministry said in a statement Addis Ababa's conducts are unjustified and constitute dangerous breach of the international law and norms of cooperation among states.
The statement said that according to the Somali laws and constitution, the regional leadership of Somaliland does not have an independent judiciary, thus it cannot get involved in such treaties with another state. Therefore, the memo is considered invalid.
Somalia pledged to take measures to ensure non-implementation of the memo, inked between Ethiopia and Somaliland.
Ethiopia's move threatens stability in the African Horn, the statement said.
Somalia had been involved in a successful operation for combating terrorism, represented by the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabab militia, over the past two years, during which the federal government succeeded in liberating large swaths of lands from the rebels, however, with deep regret, the illegal memo will provide Al-Shabab a golden opportunity to exploit the situation.
It called on the African Union and the UN to take a stance against the illegal memo and condemn the unjustified aggression by Ethioipia on Somalia's sacred sovereignty and territorial sanctity.
On January 1, 2024, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi, stating that Somaliland would lease more than 19 kilometres (12 miles) of its Red Sea coastline to Ethiopia around the port city of Berbera. (end) asm.rk