The President of the Federal Government of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, said that Egyptian troops will be deployed in the Middle Shabelle region, specifically between the districts of Balcad and Mahaday.
President Hassan Sheikh also denied previous media reports that Egyptian troops will be sent to the Gedo region, where Ethiopian troops are stationed.
The President said that the Egyptian troops will replace the positions vacated by Burundian troops, who will soon leave Somalia, after the end of their six-month extension.
“There may be differences between Egypt and Ethiopia, but not inside Somalia. There are no Egyptian troops going to the Ethiopian border out of nowhere, nor have Egypt asked us to go to the Ethiopian border,” the President said.
President Hassan Sheikh stressed that Somalia’s goal is not for the two countries to fight each other internally. He added that the Egyptian troops came to Somalia to contribute to ensuring security.
“Somalia will not allow two countries involved in a ‘Proxy War’ to fight within the country. Both countries have very good relations with us, and there is no reason for them to fight within Somalia,” said President Hassan Sheikh.
Recently, the Ethiopian ambassador to Somalia launched a verbal attack on Egyptian forces, saying that Egypt has no history of peacekeeping, and that their presence will not benefit the security situation in Somalia.
