The Somalian Minister of Foreign Affairs called on its neighbour Kenya on to stay out of its internal affairs. On Thursday, the top Somalian diplomat Ahmed Isse Awad to “halt its ongoing violations” of neighbour’s sovereignty.
Somalia and Kenya are neighbouring countries who used to help each other but in March last year, the tensions between the two nations rose over oil- and gas-rich area in Indian Ocean.
On Thursday, Somali foreign ministry voiced concern against encroachment in the border areas between the two countries. Ahmed Isse Awad said Somali highly appreciates Kenyan assistance for the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) that is battling al-Qaeda affiliated al-Shabaab militants with the aim of bringing peace and stability. However, the troop-contributing countries to AMISOM shouldn’t to overstep its mandate and abuse its membership and interfere in the internal affairs of the host country.
As Somalian foreign minister added, Kenya demonstrates a total disregard of the stipulated regulations of the Federal Government of Somalia. That was a reason for pursuing necessary avenues including diplomatic efforts as part of its constitutional mandate of protecting the nation’s unity and sovereignty.
Since March 2019, Kenya and Somalia have been on the verge of a diplomatic maritime row over disputed 160,580-square-kilometer oil and gas-rich area in the Indian Ocean in the shape of a triangle that both nations claim.
