Egypt and Somalia have decided to hold joint military exercises in the Horn of Africa nation, in what appears to be a show of force that could increase tension between the two Arab League members and Ethiopia, security officials told The National on Monday…
The war games, which are expected to be held this month, will involve ground, air, and naval forces, according to the regional security sources close to Cairo. They declined however to disclose the start date, duration or the number of troops involved, “The drills will send a clear and loud message about our firm commitment to co-operate and protect Somalia,” said one of the officials. “They’ll mean much more than just war drills.”
News of the joint war games broke only a day after Egypt said it had written to the UN Security Council to protest against what it saw as Ethiopia’s unilateral policies over the Grand Renaissance Ethiopia Dam (Gerd).
Cairo rejects Ethiopia’s policies of moving ahead with completing the construction of the dam and filling its reservoir without consulting downstream Egypt, read the letter written by Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Atty. Those policies threaten regional stability, it added.
Egypt and Ethiopia have been at loggerheads for more than a decade over the construction of the massive Nile dam, which Cairo says will reduce its vital share of Nile waters, “Egypt has negotiated in good faith [with Ethiopia] for 13 years. The negotiations have been halted after it became clear to everyone that Addis Ababa wanted them to continue indefinitely as a cover while it created a de facto situation on the ground,” the letter said.
