Somali president accuses Ethiopia security of blocking AU summit access

Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Saturday accused Ethiopian security forces of trying to block his access to the African Union summit, with Mogadishu describing it as a “provocative” act.

Mohamud’s claims come amid a feud between Addis Ababa and Mogadishu over a deal between Ethiopia and the breakaway region of Somaliland giving the landlocked country long-sought access to the sea.

“This morning when I prepared myself to come and attend the closed session of the summit, the Ethiopian security blocked my way,” Mohamud told reporters in Addis Ababa, after later gaining entry to the venue for the meeting.

He said he had tried again with another head of state, Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh, but they were also blocked from the AU headquarters.

“A soldier with a gun stood in front of us and denied us access to this facility,” he said.

But in a swift rejoinder, Ethiopia said it had “warmly welcomed” Mohamud and accorded him the full honours of visiting heads of state and governments to the summit.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s spokeswoman Billene Seyoum told AFP that the Somalia delegation was blocked when its security detail tried to enter a venue with weapons.

“The Somali delegation security attempted to enter the AUC premises with weapons which was blocked off by AUC security,” she said.

Somalia’s foreign ministry said in a statement it “strongly condemns the provocative attempt by the Ethiopian government to obstruct the delegation”.

It called for the AU to conduct a “credible and independent investigation (into) this outrageous conduct”.