The Chairperson of the African Union (AU) has urged Somalia and Kenya to exercise restraint amid growing tensions between the two East African neighbors.
AU Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat issued a statement on January 26 urging the two neighboring countries to stop escalating tension along their border.
Furthermore, he also asked the leadership in Somalia and Kenya to engage in dialogue to solve the differences fueling their diplomatic spat.
Somalia and Kenya have been engaged in a fierce diplomatic spat lasting over two years.
Towards the end of last year, Somalia wrote a protest letter to Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) accusing Kenya of “internal interference in its domestic affairs.”
Somalia constantly accuses Kenya of propping up the Jubbaland administration of President Ahmed Islam Madobe.
Mahamat asked these two Horn of Africa nations to give the IGAD-led initiative a chance.
He also mentioned that regional stability and security would be compromised greatly in case the clashes along Somalia-Kenya border do not stop.
