Mogadishu, 18 January 2024 –{HMC} – A United Nations-contracted cargo plane today crashed while landing on an air-strip in El-Barde in Somalia’s South West State.

The aircraft was transporting humanitarian supplies for the World Food Programme when it veered off the runway. Initial reports indicate there was one fatality and two people injured.

The United Nations in Somalia expresses its condolence to the family and colleagues of the victim, and wishes a speedy recovery for the injured.

The United Nations is working with the contracted airline company and federal and South West State authorities to investigate the incident.

Thursday January 18, 202: Somalia said on Thursday there was no room for mediation in a dispute with Ethiopia unless Addis Ababa cancelled a controversial deal with the breakaway region of Somaliland.

Tensions in the Horn of Africa have escalated after landlocked Ethiopia reached a memorandum of understanding with Somaliland on January 1 that gives it access to the sea.

“There is no space for mediation unless Ethiopia retracts its illegal MOU and reaffirms the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia,” the country’s foreign ministry said in a statement posted on its official social media accounts.

The comment comes after the African Union’s conflict resolution body on Wednesday discussed the crisis and called on the two countries “to exercise restraint, de-escalate and engage in meaningful dialogue towards finding a peaceful resolution of the matter”.

The eight-country trade bloc Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is also holding an extraordinary summit in Uganda on Thursday on the Ethiopia-Somalia feud, as well as the conflict in Sudan. All four countries are part of the bloc, along with South Sudan, Djibouti, Kenya and Eritrea.

Access to the sea

Somalia says its sovereignty and territorial integrity have been violated by the pact and has appealed for international support. Somaliland is a former British protectorate facing the Gulf of Aden which declared its independence from Somalia in 1991, a move not recognised by the international community.

Under the January 1 deal, Somaliland agreed to lease 20 kilometres (12 miles) of its coast for 50 years to Ethiopia, which wants to set up a naval base and a commercial port on the coast.

For years, Ethiopia, with a population of approximately 100 million people, has sought access to the sea after Eritrea broke away from Addis Ababa and formally declared independence in 1993 following a three-decade war. The Horn of Africa country currently relies on neighbouring Djibouti for most of its maritime trade.

In Ethiopia, where for much of 2023 the government stressed the economic need for a seaport and even subtly hinted at possibly invading Eritrea for access to the Red Sea, the deal is being portrayed as a victory.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

Thursday January 18, 2024

A prominent leader in the Coordination of Civil Democratic Forces (Tagadum) has revealed that the coalition will participate in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) summit scheduled on Thursday in Uganda to discuss the ongoing crisis in Sudan.

The IGAD extraordinary summit in Kampala will address the dispute between Somalia and Ethiopia over Somaliland port and the deteriorating situation in Sudan. Invitations were extended to Sudanese rival leaders, Chairman of the Sovereign Council, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and Commander of the Rapid Support Forces (SRF) Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.

While al-Burhan has decided to boycott it, Daglo confirmed his participation. The Sudanese Foreign Ministry has also suspended dealings with IGAD regarding the current crisis, accusing the organization of disrespecting Sudan’s sovereignty by inviting Dagalo and including Sudan on the summit agenda without prior consultation with Khartoum.

A prominent Tagadum leader informed Sudan Tribune, “Former Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok and several members of the coalition’s outreach committee will lead the delegation participating in the IGAD summit.”

The source added that the coalition would present its roadmap for resolving the crisis and the Addis Ababa Declaration signed with the RSF Commander to the East African bloc leaders tasked with resolving the conflict.

He emphasized that the coalition of civilian forces is committed to finding a peaceful solution to the Sudanese crisis and achieving national reconciliation.

The announcement of Tagadum’s participation in the IGAD summit comes two days after al-Burhan agreed to meet with a delegation from the coalition to discuss ways to end the nine-month conflict.

On January 3, former Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok met with the Djibouti President and IGAD Cahir Omer Ismail Guelleh to request their inclusion in the efforts of the regional bloc to resolve the ongoing conflict and restore civilian rule.