Security analysts say the spat has the potential to cause friction between neighbouring Kenya and Ethiopia, longtime allies each with significant numbers of peacekeepers in the Horn of Africa nation.
MOGADISHU– Kismayo airport in southern Somalia refused to allow an Ethiopian plane to land on Monday, a witness said, amid heightened tensions between the federal government and the regional leadership ahead of elections on Thursday.
Somalia’s central government said on Saturday it would not recognise the result of an upcoming vote to elect a president of Jubbaland, a key battleground state for counter-terrorism operations, saying the candidate selection process violated the national constitution.
The Jubbaland election commission has said the vote would go ahead on Thursday.
Incumbent Jubbaland President Ahmed Mohamed Madobe, who is seeking re-election this week, is a key security partner for Kenya, while Ethiopia has grown closer to the federal government in Mogadishu in the last year.
Security analysts say the spat has the potential to cause friction between neighbouring Kenya and Ethiopia, longtime allies each with significant numbers of peacekeepers in the Horn of Africa nation.
