An Egyptian warship unloaded a large shipment of weapons, including anti-aircraft guns and artillery, to Somalia over the weekend, port and military officials said on Monday. This second major arms delivery is expected to heighten tensions between Egypt, Somalia, and Ethiopia.
Ties between Egypt and Somalia have strengthened this year due to mutual distrust of Ethiopia, leading Egypt to send several planeloads of arms to Mogadishu following a joint security pact signed in August.
The tension between Somalia and Ethiopia escalated after Ethiopia signed a preliminary agreement in January with Somaliland to lease land for a port, potentially recognizing Somaliland’s independence.
Egypt, already at odds with Ethiopia over the construction of a massive dam on the Nile, condemned the Somaliland deal.
Security forces sealed off the area on Sunday and Monday as the weapons were transported to Somalia’s defense ministry and nearby military bases, according to officials and port workers.
Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre’s office official, Nasra Bashir Ali, shared a photo on her X account showing Defence Minister Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur overseeing the ship’s unloading.
Egyptian officials either declined to comment or did not immediately respond to requests.
Ethiopia, which has stationed at least 3,000 soldiers in Somalia as part of the African Union peacekeeping mission (ATMIS) against Islamist insurgents, also has an additional 5,000-7,000 troops deployed in other regions through a bilateral agreement.
Somalia has labeled the Somaliland agreement a violation of its sovereignty, demanding Ethiopia withdraw its troops by the year’s end unless the deal is canceled.
Meanwhile, Egypt has expressed interest in providing troops for a new peacekeeping mission in Somalia, according to the African Union in July, though Cairo has remained silent on the issue publicly.
Ethiopia’s government did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment but previously stated it cannot remain passive while “other actors” take steps to destabilize the region.
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