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In the wake of Somalia’s announcement this week that it is cutting off diplomatic ties with Kenya, the Nairobi government says it will not expel Somali diplomats and will instead seek talks with its neighbor.
Meanwhile, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta ended a three-day visit on Tuesday aimed at strengthening ties with Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi.
Kenyatta had invited the leader of the separatist state of Somalia, who arrived on Sunday.
Somalia’s decision was announced Monday night by Information Minister Osman Dubbe, who told VOA that it came in response to what he called Kenya’s constant and blatant interference with Somali sovereignty.
In his nationally televised address, Dubbe said the government ordered all Somali diplomats in Kenya to return home and gave Kenyan diplomats in Somalia seven days to leave the country.
Kenyan government spokesman Cyrus Oguna told reporters on Tuesday that Nairobi would not expel Somalia diplomats or citizens in response to Mogadishu’s decision to sever ties.
“We all know that Kenya and Somalia have a lot in common and many problems that unite us. We have a history that unites us. We have economic and even social cohesion,” Oguna told reporters at a press conference.
“They also know that we have our (Kenya Defense Forces) protecting the security of Somalia … There is also the issue of diplomacy and international relations that require sincere cooperation. Do me good, and I will do you good.”
A few hours after Somalia announced its diplomatic break with Kenya, the Somalia National Army (SNA) was deployed on the common border, according to Kenyan media. In Mandera County, residents reported seeing SNA troops taking strategic positions along the border.
Bihi said Somaliland would not enforce Mogadishu’s order for the Kenyans to leave.
An estimated 219,000 Somali civil war refugees have been living in Kenya’s Dadaab refugee compound, one of the world’s largest refugee camps, since 1991, according to the UN Refugee Agency. He said another 130,000 Somali refugees came to the Hagadera refugee camp in Kenya in 2011 to flee drought and famine.
‘Nothing to do with us’
In an interview Tuesday with the VOA Somali Service, Bihi insisted his visit to Kenyatta played no role in the Kenya-Somalia divide.
“The relationship between Somalia and Kenya depends on them and has nothing to do with us,” he said. “But if Somalia cuts off the diplomatic relationship of any country that establishes a relationship with Somaliland, which has been outside Somalia for the past 30 years, we will see who Somalia will have a relationship with.”
Somaliland separated from Somalia in 1991 and declared its independence, although this has not been recognized by the United Nations, the African Union or any other country. The Somali government insists that Somaliland is part of the country. In 2019, Mogadishu cut ties with Guinea after the West African country established a new relationship with Somaliland.
Bihi blamed the central government of Somalia for delaying the planned talks with Somaliland. Representatives from both governments met in Djibouti on June 14 and agreed to appoint a technical committee to continue talks and avoid politicizing any international development assistance and investment. But the committee has never met.
Promoting cooperation between Kenya and Somaliland
On Tuesday, Kenyatta and Bihi issued a joint statement reaffirming “their unwavering commitment to deepening cordial bilateral relations” in their respective lands.
The document outlined measures to strengthen the diplomatic and economic ties of Kenya and Somaliland. He said that at the end of March, Kenya would open a consulate in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, and would also authorize Kenyan airlines to start direct flights from Nairobi.
The statement identified other areas of cooperation, including the expansion of trade and continued efforts to combat terrorism in the region, primarily by al-Shabab militants.
Oguna said he expected an intervention in the diplomatic crisis. He cited the Djibouti-based Intergovernmental Authority for Development, an eight-nation trading bloc in the Horn of Africa, and the Zambia-based Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, a free-trade area of 21 member states ranging from Tunis to Eswatini. .
Sahra Nur from the VOA Somali Service contributed to this report, as did Kennes Bwire and Hubbah Abdi from the VOA Swahili Service. Abdi reported from Nairobi, Kenya.
