The President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, H.E Hassan Sheikh Mohamud who gave an interview to the Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath channels on Sunday confirmed that Somalia has no intentions to go to war with Ethiopia unless things take a wrong turn.
“We have no plans or intentions to go to war with Ethiopia at present time, but if things change, we will have to react then”, President Mohamud said.
The President said in the interview that he considers the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that Ethiopia signed with Somaliland “is a violation of international law and the world order.”
President Hassan Sheikh reminded that “Somalia is a member of the Arab League and has the right to obtain support to defend itself if there is a need, but so far there is no need for that.”
The President said that Somaliland is part of Somalia and located in the northern area of the country.
The President of the Republic called for building a joint strategy with Egypt because the threat is common. Regarding the war on terrorism, President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud said, “We do not want to divert our focus from the war on the “Al-Shabaab terrorists,” adding: But these militias are now exploiting the MoU between Ethiopia-Somaliland to call for the recruitment of young people to join the extremists under the pretext of the return of the “Crusaders.”
President Hassan Sheikh stressed that his country “so far” is working “within the framework of international law and the international system,” adding: “We sent a message to the United Nations Security Council to look into the matter because of the danger it represents and its impact on global security.”
The President concluded that Ethiopia does not want just part of the sea, but rather wants to annex Somalia’s land, and this will never happen.