The historic coastal city of Zeila in Northern Somalia has been in the news for the last five days, The Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed said that his country would acquire a seaport peacefully or by force, Zeila is among the coastal cities in Ethiopia’s sight, this time aided by two factors: a letter shared on the social media about talks between a Somali clan and the Ethiopian Government about concession to run Zeila as a port town by Ethiopia..
In Hargeisa, Mohamed Abib, an MP of the Somaliland Parliament whose traditional leader has allegedly been in talks with the Ethiopian government, said that he welcomed the idea of Ethiopian investment in Zeila. The second factor pertains to the claim by the Somaliland Administration that it is a sovereign country. Somaliland’s claim to sovereignty is more conducive to Ethiopian takeover of Zeila by force.
The secession claim revives the dream of both Menelek and Emperor Hailse Sellasie, who campaigned for annexing Berbera. Menelek claimed that he ruled Somali clans (Gadabursi and Habar Awal) to lay claim to Somali-inhabited territories. Menelek’s claim was a mimicry of the Protectorate Agreement the British Empire signed with Somali clans only to have their territories annexed to Ethiopia through a secret Abyssinian-British pact.
In 2018 the Federal Government of Somali Parliament rejected a DP World concession to run Berbera Port in which Ethiopia had shares, but DP World still runs Berbera Port. Somalia is governed under Chapter 7 UN Convention applied to countries that pose threat to global security, but the secessionist administration in Northern Somalia objects to the sovereignty of Somalia, ignores the UN Security Council statements, but expects to be protected by it against Ethiopian invasion.
What makes the situation more frightening is the fact that the Federal Government of Somalia based in Mogadishu that has not so far issued a statement on the territorial integrity of Somalia to the effect that the recognised government has the constitutional duty to protect Somalia against aggression” said a federal MP who spoke to Local news on the condition of anonymity. Its silence may embolden Ethiopia to capture Zeila on dubious grounds. “The best way to avoid this scenario is for the scessionst administration to drop its illegal claim to unilateral secession” added the federal MP from Hargeisa.
