CAIRO, Egypt – An Egyptian lawmaker on Friday defended Cairo’s decision to send troops to Somalia under an African Union mandate, insisting the move is both legal and at the request of Mogadishu, while brushing aside Ethiopia’s objections as an attempt to “provoke instability.”
The deployment highlights a new front in the long-running rivalry between Cairo and Addis Ababa, shifting disputes over water rights and regional influence into Somalia’s fragile security arena.
Mustafa Bakri, a member of Egypt’s parliament, told reporters the decision was fully sanctioned. “It came at the request of the Somali government and with the approval of the African Union’s Peace and Security Council, which gives it full legitimacy,” he said.
He dismissed Ethiopia’s criticism as “unacceptable” and designed to stir conflict, stressing that Egypt’s move is not connected to the bitter dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile.
The remarks came days after Somalia announced, on August 26, that Egyptian troops would soon join the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM). Somalia’s Defense Ministry said the units, trained in Cairo, will be deployed in Hiiraan, Lower Shabelle, and Gedo—key battlegrounds in the fight against al-Shabaab.
A war of words
Ethiopia, which already has thousands of troops in Somalia under its own deal with Mogadishu and as part of the AU mission, has strongly opposed Egypt’s involvement.
Earlier this week, Ethiopia’s ambassador to Somalia, Suleyman Dedefo, issued a blunt warning on Somali broadcaster Universal TV. “We are greatly concerned. We are not those who are afraid or feel threatened, and we can defend ourselves,” he said.
He questioned Egypt’s intentions and credibility as a peacekeeper. “We know that Egypt will not contribute to solving Somalia’s security challenges. The Egyptian army does not have a significant history of international peacekeeping,” Dedefo argued, pointing to Cairo’s lack of involvement in crises in Sudan and Libya.
The flare-up comes against the backdrop of two intertwined conflicts.
The most immediate is the collapse in relations between Somalia and Ethiopia. Tensions spiked in January 2024 when Ethiopia struck a controversial deal with Somaliland, the breakaway region Somalia claims as part of its territory. The pact would give Ethiopia a 50-year lease on a naval base and commercial port in exchange for potentially recognizing Somaliland’s independence.
Somalia branded the deal illegal, prompting Mogadishu to seek new allies—including a defense pact signed with Egypt the same month.
That dispute has folded into the broader rivalry between Egypt and Ethiopia. The two countries have spent more than a decade locked in a battle over the GERD, which Egypt fears threatens its critical share of Nile water.
President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has framed Cairo’s new role in Somalia as part of a wider effort to safeguard Arab and regional stability, particularly the Red Sea—a vital maritime corridor leading to the Suez Canal.
Strategic stakes
Egyptian troops will now enter a zone long dominated by Ethiopian forces, at a moment when the AU’s larger Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) is being wound down and replaced by the leaner AUSSOM.
For Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the partnership with Egypt provides not only troops on the ground but also valuable diplomatic leverage against Addis Ababa. For Egypt, it secures a strategic foothold in the Horn of Africa and a new way to counter its main regional rival.
Bakri warned that Ethiopia’s continued defiance could worsen tensions. “Ethiopia does not want Egypt to play a significant role in the Horn of Africa,” he said, cautioning that Addis Ababa’s stance risked pushing the two countries closer to confrontation.