Djibouti is backing Somalia's govt on blocking the UAE base in Berbera

[Hemaal]

According to Omar, Somaliland is also happy to present its land to other friendly countries looking to set up military bases to break the Djibouti monopoly in the region.

The base developments have been facing a fierce resistance from Djibouti and Somalia.

On March 4, the ambassador to Somalia was recalled in protest to demands made by the Mogadishu government to stop the development of a military base in the semi-autonomous northern region of Somaliland.

One source has confirmed the arrival of Ambassador Mohammed Al Hammadi to Abu Dhabi on March 4 based on orders by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The move comes after newly elected Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo requested last week the intervention of Saudi Arabia to persuade the UAE not to complete the establishment of a military base in Somaliland.

Ambassador Omar said that the Somali move came at the request of the Djibouti government.

“Djibouti seeks to have a monopoly over foreign military bases in the Horn of Africa,” he said.

And despite the protest, the UAE is continuing to grow its military and commercial expansion.

On March 10, the Puntland government announced that the UAE is close to winning a concession for the development and operation of Bosaso port, giving them another strategic gate way to East Africa overlooking the Gulf of Aden.

The concession comes after the UAE has funded the establishment of the Puntland Maritime Protection Force in 2010 and donated three second-hand Ayres S2R Thrush aircraft to conduct maritime surveillance and security patrols.

Operations from the Berbera base may well start this year, according to Alex Mello, a security analyst at New York based Horizon Client Access, who has recently been to Eritrea following the Assab base development.

“Fixed wing operations can start this year because it can be set up faster in Berbera due to the large existing runway, we can see it happen by the third or fourth quarter of the year,” Mello said.

Rotary winged aircrafts were already conducting operations two months after the deal was approved in Assab, therefore they may be quick to start in Berbera, according to him.

“Assab base development is 75 percent complete, the UAE started work in the spring of 2015,” he added.

Mello’s assessment for the completion of the naval port facilities is 18 months in Assab to dock corvette class ships and frigates, currently only landing ships are docked there.

A new control tower has been completed and more hangars for fixed wing aircrafts have started operating.

The UAE military’s projection and logistics capabilities allows it to operate very quickly.

After the Eritrea deal was approved in April 2015, the UAE was able to shift a whole brigade in to Assab, and by August 2015, deploy it to Aden in Yemen for combat operations.

The UAE’s commitment to Somaliland over the next 25 years will include military training for their police and security forces.

“There is an agreement that [the UAE military] will train our local security forces as well as the military to a level that protects the whole country,” said Ali.

“They have to train our forces because they will not be able to do everything alone, they need extra security from our side,” he added.

Furthermore, the UAE will be protecting the Somaliland coast and providing naval training and equipment to the local forces.

The agreement also dictates that investments in education, health, energy and water will be made by the UAE in addition to infrastructure development projects that include a modern highway between Berbera and the town of Wajaale on the Ethiopian border.

The UAE’s investments in the country complement their foreign policy in the region.

http://newsweekme.com/safe-bases-uaes-military-expansion-africa/

 

[oday1kenobi]

not surprised...

 

[--Ajakis Lax Max--]

Djibouti

 

[Kezira]

Not even Ethiopia reached an agreement with Somaliland on the base

 

[legend]

This is way out of line, not a big fan of reer ictiraaf but for the sfg to even try blocking it is wrong, and as for Djibouti it's hard finding a country that actually doesn't have a base in Djibouti so it's kind of hypocritical of them.

Ps I stand with isaaqia

 

[Bohol]

Yet Landers think Djibouti is their friend kkkk.

 

[Hoosjeed]

Makes sense, as they don't want to support their competition. Berbera is of far more strategic value than Djibouti even though the latter already hosts several military bases.

 

[Steamdevolopment]

This is way out of line, not a big fan of reer ictiraaf but for the sfg to even try blocking it is wrong, and as for Djibouti it's hard finding a country that actually doesn't have a base in Djibouti so it's kind of hypocritical of them.

Ps I stand with idooria

SFG has to at least make the appearance of resistance to it is a de-facto admission of the validity of the semi-autonomous goverment status not as a regional government but as a sovreign state.

In both contractual law and international law long time absent of asserting a right, in this case sovereignty makes you lose it or the other party/parties is no longer bound to respect it.

You need to have that in mind even though Djibouti is out for its own short-term interests.

 

[legend]

SFG has to at least make the appearance of resistance to it is a de-facto admission of the validity of the semi-autonomous goverment status not as a regional government but as a sovreign state.

In both contractual law and international law long time absent of asserting a right, in this case sovereignty makes you lose it or the other party/parties is no longer bound to respect it.

You need to have that in mind even though Djibouti is out for its own short-term interests.

Dude lets be frank, everyone knows where the orders are coming from and that's Doha, they don't want a UAE base in Berbera and they are using our govt unfortunately.

A plane full of Amison soldiers is flown into Somalia every week, al kebab are running a rampage throughout the country and now the sfg made more enemies by getting Somalis involved into this mess in the gulf.

As for legalities it's already been ticked off by the major players and that's that.

BTW where are we gonna export our livestock now?

 

[Mohsin]

Farmaajo denied

 

[Cotton Eyed Joe]

Djibouti was like "not my booty".