Two C-130 aircraft of the Egyptian Air Force have delivered troops and military equipment to Mogadishu International Airport, according to The Guardian. This move was made under a bilateral agreement amid rising tensions between Somalia and Ethiopia.
The agreements between Cairo and Mogadishu outline the deployment of 5,000 Egyptian troops, along with tanks and combat aircraft, on Somali territory to ensure the security of Mogadishu following the withdrawal of the African Union (AU) peacekeeping contingent from Somalia. Additionally, Egypt plans to send another 5,000 troops to Somalia to participate in the new AU military mission, which is scheduled to commence in January 2025.
The Guardian reports rumors that Egyptian troops may be deployed along Somalia's border with Ethiopia, a development that has sparked concerns in Somalia's Gedo and Hiran regions. Local authorities fear being drawn into the ongoing conflict between Mogadishu and Addis Ababa.
Mogadishu has repeatedly expressed its intention to expel Ethiopian troops from Somalia. These troops were initially deployed to combat al-Shabaab terrorists, but the situation has become more complicated following an agreement between Ethiopia and Somalia's Somaliland region, which declared independence unilaterally. The agreement, reached in early January 2024, grants Ethiopia access to the sea, a move that Mogadishu perceives as a violation of Somalia's sovereignty. Ethiopia, on the other hand, has stated that it plans to keep its troops in Somalia to secure its borders from terrorist threats.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Georgia National Guard/Creative Commons 2.0
Based on materials from TASS