On Thursday, Somalia closed two Ethiopian consulates in the country’s north and asked the Ethiopian ambassador to leave, heightening diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
The Cabinet, which convened in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, ordered the closure of the two consulates in Garowe, Puntland State, and Hargeisa, Somaliland State, within a week.
“Diplomats and Ethiopian government employees working in the two consulates in the cities mentioned must leave the country within a week,” the Cabinet stated in a post-meeting statement.
The telegram warned Ethiopian embassies that failing to comply with the command would result in extra sanctions, and such actions would be deemed a violation of Somalia’s sovereignty. It also asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to officially inform Ethiopia’s ambassador in Somalia to return to his home country for discussion.
This incident came after a meeting between Ethiopia’s foreign minister and Puntland’s finance minister on Wednesday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, which Mogadishu claims was neither scheduled or sanctioned by the Somali government.