Somalia expels Ethiopian Ambassador to Mogadishu

Somalia on Thursday announced it was expelling Ethiopian Ambassador to Mogadishu as tensions between the two sides rose over alleged interference into internal affairs.

The decision came after a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Hamza Barre.

Mogadishu promptly ordered the expulsion of the Ethiopian Ambassador to Mogadishu, Muktar Mohamed Ware, effective Thursday.

The decision also said that Ethiopian consular offices in Hargeisa, Somaliland and Garowe, Puntland are closed.

The dispatch from Mr Hamza's.offixe suggested Ethiopia had doubled down on interference.

This came just a day after Puntland, the semi-autonomous region in Somalia, announced new cooperation arrangement with Addis Ababa, even after it 'suspended' cooperation with Mogadishu under the federal structure.

Puntland last week rejected constitutional amendments on four chapters of the constitution in spite of the Federal Parliament approving them on Saturday.

Somalia and Ethiopia were already bickering over Somaliland, even though Mogadishu had largely avoided expelling the ambassador and Ethiopian troops remained in Somalia under the African Union mission (ATMIS).

In January, Ethiopia and Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation.

On Thursday, the tension was exacerbated by Ethiopian Foreign Ministry receiving a delegation from Puntland on Wednesday.