President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (C) makes his way to conduct a press conference following the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU) at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa on February 17, 2024. (Photo by Michele Spatari / AFP)
Addis Ababa: Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Saturday accused Ethiopian security forces of trying to block his access to the African Union summit, with Mogadishu describing it as a "provocative" act.
Mohamud's claims come amid a feud between Addis Ababa and Mogadishu over a deal between Ethiopia and the breakaway region of Somaliland giving the landlocked country long-sought access to the sea.
He described the actions of Ethiopia since the memorandum of understanding was reached in January and his treatment on Saturday as a "provocation".
"This morning when I prepared myself to come and attend the closed session of the summit, the Ethiopian security blocked my way," Mohamud told reporters in Addis Ababa, after later gaining entry to the venue for the meeting.
He said he had tried again with another head of state, Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh, but they were also blocked from the AU headquarters.
"A soldier with a gun stood in front of us and denied us access to this facility," he said.
Somalia's foreign ministry said in a statement it "strongly condemns the provocative attempt by the Ethiopian government to obstruct the delegation of the Somali president from attending the 2024 African Union Summit in Addis Ababa" and called for the AU to investigate.
