Somali Government Slams Kenya Over Cross-Border Exploration
Somalia’s interior minister, Abdisamad Mahamud Hussein, has openly called out Kenyan figureheads on what he called an incursion on Somali territory. The Interior Minister is referring to oil and gas exploration between the two nations’ borders.
Hussein, whose regime welcomed the invasion of Somalia by Kenyan forces late last year, has cited a breach of Somali territorial sovereignty by Kenya over recent drilling at the L5 Block inside Somali territory in the southwestern Gedo region.
The Interior Minister reiterated his stance that his knowledge of the situation was not clear, but that Anadarko Petroleum Corporation may have likely taken its Kenyan exploration agreement to the wrong side of the border, and that this wrong should be addressed.
Kenya has long been attempting to expand its offshore territory into Somali-designated parcels of the map, even going as far as to attempt to enact laws that expand Kenyan territory. The attempts won over the signatures of former Somali MPs, but have largely been since former Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke tore apart the agreements.
There have been multiple, often-conflicting attempts at establishing a state-based authority for the lawless border province of Gedo, but the speculation of oil in the region may just hasten the drive of Somalis to stabilize the region.
Hirsi Fiqi, Editor
DissidentNation.com
