Kenya-Somalia dispute threatens an embattled Horn of Africa
Written by ISSAfrica -
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Joint IGAD–AU action is urgently needed to avoid further destabilisation of a region already wracked by violence.
Relations between Kenya and Somalia have been strained for some time over economic and maritime boundary issues. But new alliances in the region are now making the situation worse.
The latest dispute is over Kenya’s alleged interference in Somalia’s internal affairs. Countries in the Horn are being drawn into the battle, threatening to destabilise an already fragile region. Despite the Intergovernmental Authority on Development’s (IGAD) engagement in the latest conflict, the regional body may not be able to resolve the problem alone.
16 March 2021 14:01 GMT Updated 16 March 2021 14:01 GMT in London
Kenya’s government has come in for sharp criticism over its last-minute decision to boycott an international court hearing in the Netherlands on its maritime boundary dispute with Somalia.
The two nations agreed to resolve the dispute at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, with the outcome set to determine how an 160,000 square kilometre area with significant oil and gas potential will be demarcated.
ICJ president Joan Donoghue said: “The court regrets the decision of Kenya not to participate in the oral proceedings” that began, as originally planned, on 15 March.
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