Ibro
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Link: https://www.africaintelligence.com/...biy-s-friendship-begins-to-fray,109631763-ar1
The Kenyan and Ethiopian heads of state are trying to have IGAD play to their tune, dampening the impact of the regional organisation's initiatives.
Uhuru Kenyatta's behaviour at the extraordinary summit of Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) heads of state on 20 December in Djibouti was a perfect illustration of his frustration with the regional body. The Kenyan president only arrived in Djibouti - where IGAD's headquarters are located - on the day of the event, at first refused to leave his room at the Kempinski hotel causing the summit to start three hours late. Kenyatta had only agreed to attend under pressure from the US ambassador to Kenya, Kyle McCarter, and Gen. Stephen Townsend, head of the US military command for Africa, AFRICOM (Africa Intelligence, 18/12/20).
Among other matters, the IGAD summit was convened to discuss the unresolved conflict over the maritime border between Somalia and Kenya that resulted in a severance of diplomatic ties between the two countries on 15 December (Africa Intelligence, 15/12/20). It is an extremely sensitive topic for both sides as the disputed area could contain large oil and gas reserves.
The second item on the agenda was the Ethiopian federal government's military operation in Tigray, and on this issue, it was Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali's turn to be upset with IGAD's meddling (Africa Intelligence, 22/12/20).
Cold war over Somalia and meddling in Tigray
Since Abiy came to power in 2018, the Somalia question has driven a wedge between Addis Ababa and Nairobi. Ethiopia has offered its full support to the re-election bid by Somalian president Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, aka Farmajo, in a poll due early this year. And Kenya is doing all it can to stop him. For example, Kenyatta recently rolled out the red carpet for the president of Somaliland, Musa Bihi Abdi, when he visited Nairobi. Also, he openly supports one of Farmajo's enemies, the governor of Jubaland state, Ahmed Mohamed Islam, aka Madobe.
Both Ethiopia and Kenya are major contributors to AMISOM, the African Union's military mission in Somalia, in which both have deployed troops. But for months, Somalia has become a bone of contention between Abiy and Kenyatta that is increasingly difficult to patch over. In his struggle to impose his authority over all of Somalia's federal states, Farmajo could serve as an ally to Abiy in his fight against breakaway regions (Africa Intelligence, 16/11/20), whereas Kenyatta sees him as a threat to the territorial sovereignty of Kenya.
Ethiopia's Tigray crisis has further exasperated tensions between Nairobi and Addis Ababa. On 24 November, three weeks after the beginning of a military operation Abiy launched against the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), Kenyatta tried to push for regional mediation to resolve the conflict. Abiy responded the next day with a scathing press release in which he flatly refused any outside intervention.
In the eyes of IGAD, the AU, and the UN, the dual confrontations are putting the region at risk: the conflict between Nairobi and Mogadishu benefits the Al Shabaab Islamist group, which is still active in Somalia, and the Tigray crisis has already begun to spill over into Sudan and Eritrea. On 21 December, at the end of the IGAD summit, Abiy was able to have his neighbours agree to not set foot in Tigray. From the confines of his hotel room, Kenyatta was able to ensure the final declaration made no mention of his dispute with Farmajo. The regional bloc did manage to support the deal between Somalia's central government and its federal states, another sticking point between the Kenyan and Somalian presidents.
The Kenyan and Ethiopian heads of state are trying to have IGAD play to their tune, dampening the impact of the regional organisation's initiatives.
Uhuru Kenyatta's behaviour at the extraordinary summit of Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) heads of state on 20 December in Djibouti was a perfect illustration of his frustration with the regional body. The Kenyan president only arrived in Djibouti - where IGAD's headquarters are located - on the day of the event, at first refused to leave his room at the Kempinski hotel causing the summit to start three hours late. Kenyatta had only agreed to attend under pressure from the US ambassador to Kenya, Kyle McCarter, and Gen. Stephen Townsend, head of the US military command for Africa, AFRICOM (Africa Intelligence, 18/12/20).
Among other matters, the IGAD summit was convened to discuss the unresolved conflict over the maritime border between Somalia and Kenya that resulted in a severance of diplomatic ties between the two countries on 15 December (Africa Intelligence, 15/12/20). It is an extremely sensitive topic for both sides as the disputed area could contain large oil and gas reserves.
The second item on the agenda was the Ethiopian federal government's military operation in Tigray, and on this issue, it was Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali's turn to be upset with IGAD's meddling (Africa Intelligence, 22/12/20).
Cold war over Somalia and meddling in Tigray
Since Abiy came to power in 2018, the Somalia question has driven a wedge between Addis Ababa and Nairobi. Ethiopia has offered its full support to the re-election bid by Somalian president Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, aka Farmajo, in a poll due early this year. And Kenya is doing all it can to stop him. For example, Kenyatta recently rolled out the red carpet for the president of Somaliland, Musa Bihi Abdi, when he visited Nairobi. Also, he openly supports one of Farmajo's enemies, the governor of Jubaland state, Ahmed Mohamed Islam, aka Madobe.
Both Ethiopia and Kenya are major contributors to AMISOM, the African Union's military mission in Somalia, in which both have deployed troops. But for months, Somalia has become a bone of contention between Abiy and Kenyatta that is increasingly difficult to patch over. In his struggle to impose his authority over all of Somalia's federal states, Farmajo could serve as an ally to Abiy in his fight against breakaway regions (Africa Intelligence, 16/11/20), whereas Kenyatta sees him as a threat to the territorial sovereignty of Kenya.
Ethiopia's Tigray crisis has further exasperated tensions between Nairobi and Addis Ababa. On 24 November, three weeks after the beginning of a military operation Abiy launched against the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), Kenyatta tried to push for regional mediation to resolve the conflict. Abiy responded the next day with a scathing press release in which he flatly refused any outside intervention.
In the eyes of IGAD, the AU, and the UN, the dual confrontations are putting the region at risk: the conflict between Nairobi and Mogadishu benefits the Al Shabaab Islamist group, which is still active in Somalia, and the Tigray crisis has already begun to spill over into Sudan and Eritrea. On 21 December, at the end of the IGAD summit, Abiy was able to have his neighbours agree to not set foot in Tigray. From the confines of his hotel room, Kenyatta was able to ensure the final declaration made no mention of his dispute with Farmajo. The regional bloc did manage to support the deal between Somalia's central government and its federal states, another sticking point between the Kenyan and Somalian presidents.
