Somalia accuses Ethiopia of providing ‘unlawful’ arms shipments to Puntland state

​​​​​​​By Mohamed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) - Somalia accused Ethiopia on Friday of providing unauthorized arms shipments to the semiautonomous state of Puntland.

The Foreign Ministry said the arms shipments violated Somalia’s sovereignty and it is “threatening regional security.”

“This action constitutes a grave infringement on Somalia's sovereignty and poses serious implications for national and regional security,” it said in a statement.

It added that documented evidence confirmed the arrival of two trucks transporting weapons from Ethiopia to the Puntland region of Somalia, executed without any diplomatic engagement or clearance, “signaling a clear breach of Somalia's territorial sovereignty.”

“This latest incident mirrors previous unauthorized arms shipments from Ethiopia, with reports of weapons being transported similarly to the Galmudug region and another cache flown into Baidoa via aircraft”, according to the ministry.

Mogadishu demanded an immediate cessation of the transgressions.

The alleged shipments comes as tensions between the two countries concerning Ethiopia’s sea access deal with the breakaway region of Somaliland remain high.

Somalia has rejected Ethiopia's “illegitimate” Red Sea port deal with Somaliland, calling it a threat to good neighborliness and a violation of its sovereignty.

Somalia recalled its ambassador to Ethiopia after the deal was announced.

Türkiye, however, has been working to end tensions between the two Horn of Africa countries but recent talks in Ankara have not yielded results.