Port and military officials confirmed on Monday that an Egyptian warship had delivered a second large cache of weapons to Somalia, including anti-aircraft cannons and artillery. This move is likely to cause further friction between Egypt and Ethiopia.

After signing a security agreement in August, Egypt and Somalia grew closer this year due to their mutual mistrust of Ethiopia. Cairo sent several planeloads worth of weapons to Mogadishu.

Ethiopia angered Mogadishu when it agreed to a preliminary agreement in January with Somaliland, a breakaway region in Somalia. The deal involved leasing land for a new port in exchange for the possibility of recognition of Somaliland's independence from Somalia.

Egypt, which has been at odds with Ethiopia over the construction of Addis Ababa’s hydro dam near the headwaters to the Nile River for many years, has condemned this deal.

One diplomat reported that the Egyptian warship started unloading weapons on Sunday. Two port workers and two officials from the military said that security forces had blocked the roads and quayside on Sunday and Monday while convoys transported the weapons to the Defence Ministry building and nearby bases.

The Egyptian authorities either refused to comment or did not respond immediately to requests for comments.

Ethiopia has at minimum 3,000 soldiers in Somalia, as part of the African Union Peacekeeping Mission (ATMIS), fighting Islamist insurgents. Meanwhile, 5,000-7,000 troops have been deployed to other areas under bilateral agreements.

Addis Ababa has not scrapped the Somaliland agreement. Somalia, on the other hand, says that the deal is an attack on its sovereignty. It wants Ethiopian troops to leave by the end of this year.

The African Union announced in July that Egypt had offered to provide troops for a new mission of peacekeeping in Somalia. However, Cairo hasn't publicly commented on this matter.

Ethiopia's government has not responded to the request for comment. However, it has previously stated that the country cannot remain silent while "other actors", who are destabilizing the region, take action. (Reporting and writing by Abdi Shaikh in Mogadishu, Hereward Holland, Editing by Ammu Kanampilly and Ed Osmond).

(source: Reuters)