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Djibouti sends investigation team to Somalia-Kenya border amid tension
DJIBOUTI – Djibouti sent an investigative committee to the Kenyan-Somali border to assess the situation following claims by Mogadishu that the KDF is mobilizing and arming militias to attack Somali army bases in the Gedo region.
Djibouti Foreign Minister Mahmud Ali Yusuf told reporters that the team included diplomats and senior military officials who left for Mandera and Beled-Hawo on Friday to find out the reality on the ground.
During the visit, the committee will meet with officials and local communities in both border cities in an effort to assess the overall situation and record the latest events and current developments.
“The Djibouti commission of inquiry will assess the situation along the Somalia-Kenya border, particularly in Beled Hawo and Mandera, where tensions have been high these days,” Yusuf said.
The move comes as a result of the 38th Extraordinary Summit of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD) held in Djibouti last week.
The summit that was held after FGS sent a protest letter against Kenya to Abdalla Hamdok, the Sudanese prime minister who is the current IGAD Assembly Speaker, focused on the conflict in Ethiopia and the diplomatic dispute between Somalia and Kenya. .
In his speech, the Chairman of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, said that the diplomatic tension between Kenya and Somalia was a concern for the AU and called for an end to the dispute within the IGAD bloc.
IGAD called on both countries to open dialogue and reduce tension. Somalia and Kenya have been exchanging accusations for the past few weeks as relations soared after Mogadishu cut ties with Nairobi.
The Somali government has summoned its ambassador and all diplomats to Nairobi and has asked the Kenyan envoy to leave the country within seven days to protest the frequent interference in its internal politics.
Kenya is one of five East African nations that contributed troops to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and has hosted a large population of Somali refugees in Dadaab camps since 1991.
GAROWE ONLINE
