Somalia welcomes Egypt’s offer to deploy troops

Somalia said it welcomes an Egyptian offer to deploy troops once the mandate of an African Union peace keeping mission expires in December.

The decision is seen from Ethiopia as a hostile move, amid tension between Cairo and Addis Ababa over the Ethiopian renaissance dam.

Somalian officials issued a statement following a summit in the Eritrean capital, attended by Egyptian president Abdelfattah El-Sissi.

Somalia, Eriteria, and Egypt signed an agreement to back Somalian forces in their fight against terrorist groups.

The Somalian statement said the three leaders welcomed the decision of the African Union Peace and Security Council to launch the African Union Stabilization Support Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), under whose mandate the Egyptians or others would be deployed.

Ethiopia has previously warned that it will not accept Egyptian troops on its borders, adding that this would be considered as a casus belli.

Ethiopia is at loggerheads with Somalia which accuses it of backing the separatists of Somaliland by signing a deal to build and lease a port on the Red Sea, in exchange for recognition of independence.