Somali information minister Osman Abukar Dubbe has claimed that Kenya has a sinister plot to destabilise the nation as it prepares elections.
Speaking to Somali National TV, Mr Dubbe accused Kenya of planning to take its water and land in what he said was an “inappropriate daydream”.
“We respect Kenya, appreciate our neighbourliness and mutual interest. On our side, we always uphold these principles. However, Kenya seems not to be interested in that but rather wants to pursue an inappropriate daydream and is a state focused on ambitions to pursue taking the Somali land and waters,” Mr Dubbe.
He also rebuked Kenya for interfering in its political process by holding meetings with opposition leaders in Nairobi.
Read: Somalia Recalls Its Envoy To Kenya, Sends Away Kenya’s Ambassador To Mogadishu
“Mogadishu has never hosted a single opposition politician from Kenya, who want to create tension in our neighbours, but instead, Nairobi has become a base where attacks on Somalia are launched from. It has become the base where agreements reached inside Somalia are violated.”
“(Nairobi) has become a place where plans to cause political tensions intended to destabilise the emerging governance in our country… That is why we had recalled our ambassador from Nairobi for consultation,” he added.
The information minister was also unhappy about the Kenyan troops that withdrew from certain Somali regions without notifying the authorities.
He said: “After the Kenyan forces withdrew from the towns without informing anybody they were seized (by al-Shabab). Imagine the problems the Somali people who lived there experienced. Is that something we can ignore? Go and ask the residents in Fahfadhun what had happened to them.”
Read Also: Somalia Court Sentences Kenyan Man to Death Over Terrorism Activities
On Sunday, Somalia recalled its ambassador to Kenya Mohamud Ahmed Nur and sent away Kenya’s ambassador to Somalia Mr Lucas Tumbo “for consultations”.
In a statement, Somalia accused Kenya of infringing its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“The Federal Government of Somalia notes the Kenyan government’s attempt to infringe upon the sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence and unity of Somalia and hereby expresses its deep regret with the Kenyan government’s continuous interferences in the internal and political affairs of Somalia,” the statement read in part.
“Therefore, the Federal Government of Somalia summons its Ambassador to the Republic of Kenya and instructs the Ambassador of the Republic of Kenya to Somalia to depart to Kenya for consultations.”
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