The Somali government on Thursday said it has severed all diplomatic ties with the Republic of Guinea. Foreign Minister Ahmed Isse Awad made the announcement during a press conference in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, reported Africa News. He also issued a warning to other countries against violating the sovereignty and unity of Somalia.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs released an official statement in which it said the federal government of Somalia has decided to cut diplomatic relations with the Republic of Guinea.
“The decision comes after Guinea accorded the protocol of a head of state in Conakry, Guinea to the leader of a separatist movement in Somaliland in northern Somalia, callously disregarding all relevant UN resolutions and African consensus,” the statement said.
The action has been taken after Guinea President Alpha Conde invited and welcomed Somaliland’s President Muse Bihi Abdi, who is on a visit to Guinea’s capital city of Conakry.
The statement said the move is a blatant and egregious violation of Somalia’s sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity by the Republic of Guinea.
Somaliland declared its independence from Somalia back in 1991. But the territory, which is in northern Somalia, is not recognized by any foreign government or international body. Somalia insists that Somaliland is not independent.
Earlier this week, Somalia’s foreign ministry summoned the ambassador of Kenya after Nairobi referred to the self-proclaimed Republic of Somaliland as a country. The foreign ministry presented him a note of protest about the offensive tweet.
“We consider this tweet an affront to Somalia’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity as well as harmful to the relationship between Somalia and Kenya,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. “Somalia stands for good-neighborliness, mutual respect and close cooperation with its neighbors, and expects the same from Kenya.”
