Somalia bans officials from Nairobi meetings as border dispute turns nasty
Somalia’s boundary tiff with Kenya has taken a new turn after Mogadishu barred its officials from attending any meetings hosted in Nairobi to protest last week’s visa denials.
The Somali government has also given non-governmental organisations (NGOs) operating in Somalia one month’s notice to relocate their centres to Mogadishu or be barred from operating there.
This comes after three senior Somali officials travelling to attend the EU-sponsored cross-border conflict management programme were refused entry visas in Nairobi despite holding diplomatic passports.
On Sunday, Somalia’s Ministry of Health and Human Resources wrote to UN agencies and donors asking them to reschedule any meetings that were to be held in Nairobi.
“Due to recent travel issues to Nairobi, Kenya, the Ministry… will not be able to attend all planned and upcoming meetings, workshops, seminars and trainings to be held in Nairobi (and advices that) those events be held inside the country or… at alternative countries for ease of travel,” said Director-General Abdullahi Hashi Ali.