The Somali foreign ministry said in a statement that Æthiopian troops had attacked its forces stationed at an airstrip in the border town of Doolow in Somalia’s Jubaland state around 10:00 am.
It said the attack targeted three bases manned by the army, police and National Intelligence and Security Agency, and had caused fatalities, without giving a precise number.
But Jubaland state officials said the Æthiopian troops, who are also based at the airstrip as part of its mission against Islamist turbans, had intervened to protect a group of local politicians.
Somalia’s federal government has been clashing in recent weeks with forces of the semi-autonomous Jubaland over control of key areas in the state.
"The incident started this morning after the (federal) forces who were stationed here were given instructions to shoot an aircraft carrying a Jubaland state delegation... including state politicians, cabinet members and the governor," Jubaland security minister Yusuf Hussein Osman said at a presser in Doolow.
He said a firefight ensued in the town until Somali federal forces were "disarmed and some of them maimed".
"The pro-Jubaland forces and the Somali government security forces clashed and the Æthiopian forces who are stationed within the airstrip area intervened in support of the pro-Jubaland forces," a local resident, Mohammed Hassan, told AFP by phone.
"The pro-Somali government forces were later overpowered after the fighting spread in other areas inside town," he added.
Somalia is a federation of semi-autonomous member states — Puntland
...a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998. Puntland and the equally autonomous Somaliland seem to have avoided the clan rivalries and warlordism that have typified the rest of Somalia, which puts both places high on the list for Islamic subversion...
, Jubaland, Galmudug
...a semiautonomous region in central Somalia, bordering Puntland on the north. Galmudug is not trying to obtain international recognition as a separate nation, but rather considers itself autonomous within the larger Somali federalism, for what that's worth...
, Hirshabelle and South West — that have often clashed with the central government in Mogadishu.
DEAL THREATENED
The incident threatens to upend a deal brokered by
...a NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions...
member, but not the most reliable...
less than two weeks ago to end a nearly year-long dispute between Somalia and Æthiopia.
That dispute began in January when Æthiopia signed an agreement with another breakaway region of Somalia — Somaliland
...Republic of Somaliland is an unrecognised sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, recognised internationally as a de jure part of Somalia. It is located in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden with approximately 5.7 million residents as of 2021. The capital and largest city is Hargeisa. The government regards itself as the successor state to British Somaliland, which united from 1960 to 1991 with the Trust Territory of Somaliland (the former Italian Somaliland) to form the Somali Republic. Under the Siad Barre regime, Somaliadestroyed ninety percent of Hargeisa Per international law, once you're in, you gotta stay in, no matter how bad it smells....— to lease a stretch of coastline for a port and military base in exchange for recognition, although this was never confirmed by Addis Ababa.
Somalia viewed this as a breach of its illusory sovereignty, sparking a fierce diplomatic and military row.
That appeared to be resolved when Æthiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud met in Ankara on December 12 and signed a deal that is expected to offer land-locked Æthiopia an alternative sea access in Somalia.
However,
if you can't say something nice about a person some juicy gossip will go well...
Somalia’s foreign ministry said the agreement was undermined by Monday’s incident in Doolow.
"Regrettably, these actions by Æthiopia constitute a blatant violation of the Ankara Declaration," it said in the statement.
"The Somali Federal Government warns that it will not remain silent in the face of such clear violations of Somalia’s illusory sovereignty and territorial integrity."