Egypt said Sunday that it will not allow any threats to Somalia's security amid tension with Ethiopia over a recent maritime deal between Addis Ababa and Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland.
"No external actor will be permitted to threaten the Somali people or jeopardize their safety," Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said in a press conference in Cairo with his Somali counterpart Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
"We are unwavering in our support for our brothers, and if they call upon us, we will not hesitate to act," he added.
Ethiopia signed a sea access deal with Somaliland earlier this month without the approval of Somalia's central government.
Somalia rejected Ethiopia's Red Sea port deal with Somaliland, calling it "illegitimate," a threat to good neighborliness and a violation of its sovereignty. It also recalled its ambassador from Ethiopia after the deal was announced.
Addis Ababa defended its decision to sign the deal and said the agreement with Somaliland "will affect no party or country."
The deal allows Ethiopia to obtain a permanent and reliable naval base and commercial maritime service in the Gulf of Aden.
"We affirm our rejection of the agreement between Ethiopia and Somaliland and will not allow any threat to the state of Somalia and its security," al-Sisi said.
"It is not in anyone's interest to test Egypt's patience and threaten its brothers, especially if they requested Egypt's intervention," he warned.
Ethiopia lost its Red Sea ports in the early 1990s after the Eritrean War of Independence, which lasted from 1961 to 1991.
In 1991, Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia, leading to two separate nations. The separation resulted in Ethiopia losing direct access to the Red Sea and key ports.
