The UAE ambassador to Somalia has been recalled in protest to demands made by the Mogadishu government to stop the development of a military base in Somaliland.
A source has confirmed the arrival of ambassador Mohammed Al Hammadi to Abu Dhabi on Saturday (March 4) on orders from the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The move comes after newly elected Somali President, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, requested last week the intervention of Saudi Arabia to persuade the UAE not to complete the establishment of a military base in Somaliland.
The Riyadh Post, quoting an official in the Somali government, said that President Farmajo has asked Saudi officials to convince the UAE not to proceed with its plan to establish a military base during his first state visit to the Kingdom.
Last month Somali officials also protested the deal terming it illegal on the grounds that Somaliland is a region within.
The UAE and Somaliland have been negotiating the establishment of the Gulf country’s second overseas military base since 2015.
On February 12 the Somaliland parliament voted to allow the construction of a UAE base in the port town of Berbera which is 208 Km south of the strategic gateway of Bab el-Mandeb.
