Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud held back-to-back meetings this week with delegations from Sudan and the United Arab Emirates in Mogadishu, amid rising regional tensions.
On Aug. 26, Mohamud received Sudan’s intelligence chief, Gen. Ahmed Ibrahim Ali Mufaddal, who delivered a written message from Gen. Abdelfattah al-Burhan, head of Sudan’s Transitional Council. The content of the message was not disclosed. Somalia’s intelligence director, Mahad Salad, attended the talks.
A day later, UAE State Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Shakhbout bin Nahyan arrived in Mogadishu and met Mohamud at Villa Somalia for discussions that lasted several hours. During the meeting minister shakhboot conveyed a special message from the president of the UAE, Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed to president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
The visits come as ties between Sudan and the UAE remain strained. Khartoum has accused Abu Dhabi of backing the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan’s civil conflict. Amid unverified reports have also alleged that the UAE used Bosaso airport in Somalia’s Puntland State as a logistical hub related to the war.
Somalia, currently a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, is the only Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) state that Sudan says it trusts, placing Mogadishu at the center of regional diplomacy.
Officials have not released details of the talks.
Somalia, currently a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, is the only Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) state that Sudan says it trusts, placing Mogadishu at the center of regional diplomacy.
