Tensions between Horn of Africa rivals Ethiopia and Somalia on Saturday boiled over on the opening day of an African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa.
The two neighbors — already at odds over a controversial maritime pact — locked horns over Somalia’s claims that Ethiopian security tried to block Somalian President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud from accessing the summit venue.
The feud is one of a “litany of difficulties” referred to by AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat in his opening address to the gathering in the Ethiopian capital.
Faki painted a “bleak picture” and said leaders of the pan-African body had to step up and tackle the myriad conflicts, coups and political crises blighting the continent of 1.4 billion people.
The 55-nation AU, which is headquartered in Addis Ababa, has long been criticized for being ineffectual and taking little decisive action in the face of numerous conflicts and power grabs.
In a sign of the uneasy relations between two member states, Mogadishu accused Addis Ababa of “outrageous conduct” and a “provocative” act over the reported security incident and demanded a full AU investigation.
Mohamud told reporters he had been blocked by Ethiopian security agents as he tried to enter a summit venue, a second time while accompanying Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh.
“A soldier with a gun stood in front of us and denied us access to this facility,” he said after later attending the summit.
Ethiopia said Mohamud was warmly welcomed, and that the Somali delegation was blocked when its security detail tried to enter a venue with weapons.
Mogadishu has accused Addis Ababa of violating its sovereignty over a January maritime deal with Somaliland, which declared independence in 1991 in a move not recognized by the international community.
Somaliland agreed to lease 20km of its coast for 50 years to landlocked Ethiopia for a naval base and commercial port.
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