Egypt is beefing up its military presence in Somalia to take part in a new African Union mission to fight the terrorist group Al Shabab, ferrying troops there by sea and air in what sources and analysts say is a significant step in Cairo's efforts to broaden its footprint in the strategic Horn of Africa region.
The move, they said, is also a milestone in Egypt's decade-long tussle with Somalia's neighbour Ethiopia over a large Nile dam that Addis Ababa is building and which Cairo views as an existential threat to its water security.
At Somalia's request, the Egyptian troops are replacing the Ethiopian contingent in an AU mission that is being replaced, giving Cairo a significant military presence across the border from Ethiopia that could potentially pressure Addis Ababa to show flexibility over the water dispute.
Egypt and Somalia signed a military co-operation agreement this year. Under that accord, Egypt deployed several thousand troops who are serving as military advisers to Somalia's security forces and providing security for the country's top leaders, their families and key state facilities.
The new AU mission was agreed by the UN Security Council on Friday in a resolution adopted by 14 of its 15 member states. The United States abstained due to reservations about funding.
The foreign ministers of Egypt and Somalia confirmed Egypt's role in the mission during talks in Cairo last week, according to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.
“The participation of Egypt is a reflection of its genuine interest in African issues and its desire to maintain a positive presence in the continent's trouble spots,” said Amany Al Taweel, an Egyptian expert on African affairs.
“We succeeded in this extremely important step at a time when everyone else is rushing to gain a foothold in Africa. That Ethiopia will not take part in the mission is another good aspect of the deployment because Addis Ababa has been a part of tensions in Somalia and because it failed to contain Al Shabab,” she said.
The new force – formally called the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (Aussom) – will replace the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (Atmis), whose mandate ended on Tuesday. Aussom is scheduled to be deployed in January.
Ethiopia, whose relations with Somalia have been tense, is a member of Atmis. Somalia wants it excluded from Aussom on the grounds that its contingent has not effectively reduced the threat posed by Al Shabab.
The exact size of Aussom and the Egyptian contingent are yet to be formally announced, although Somali officials say 11,000 men have already been pledged. The sources told The National that the Egyptian contingent would make up about a 25 per cent of Aussom.
It is not clear whether the Egyptian troops already in Somalia will be part of the new mission or will operate separately while those being sent by Cairo at present will alone serve in the AU mission.
The sources said last week's UN Security Council resolution was received with relief in Cairo, ending a period of concern that Turkey's announcement of a mediation bid between Somalia and Ethiopia in December would change Mogadishu's mind about replacing the Ethiopians with the Egyptians.
Tensions between Somalia and landlocked Ethiopia flared nearly a year ago after Addis Ababa signed a maritime deal with the breakaway region of Somaliland to gain access to the Red Sea.
Somalia and Egypt, both members of the Cairo-based Arab League, began forging closer relations in the wake of that deal, which Mogadishu saw as a breach of its sovereignty.
No concrete steps are known to have been taken to resolve the Somali-Ethiopian dispute since the Turkish mediation was announced, according to the sources.
“There is a silent rivalry between Egypt and Turkey in the Horn of Africa and elsewhere in Africa,” said one of the sources. “That rivalry is separate from the two nations' co-operation in other fields,” added the source, alluding to the recent thaw between Cairo and Ankara after a decade of tension.
The announcement of Turkey's mediation prompted Cairo to hold urgent consultations with the Mogadishu government, seeking clarifications on the agreement, said the sources. A visit by the Somali Foreign Minister to Cairo in December was part of these talks, they added.
In another example of the Cairo-Ankara rivalry in the region, Nato member Turkey has offered to mediate between Sudan's army and a rival paramilitary to end their 20-month-old war in the Afro-Arab nation.
Sudanese army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, who has enjoyed Cairo's support in his war against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, said he welcomed Ankara's mediation.
Egypt and Turkey also back opposing sides in Libya, Egypt's western neighbour rocked by violence and divisions for more than a decade.
However, the Egyptian deployment in Somalia places Cairo at a clear advantage and bolsters its growing presence in the Horn of Africa, according to the sources.
"The Ethiopian troops must respect Somalia's wish or risk becoming an occupation force," said Salah Halimah, a former career diplomat from Egypt who is the new deputy chairman of the Egyptian Council for African Affairs, a Cairo-based think tank.
"Ethiopia must change its approach to its neighbours and improve ties to Somalia. That [the deployment of the new mission], in turn, could result in a change in its attitude towards Nile downstream nations Egypt and Sudan regarding their national water security," he said.
Egypt already has military bases in Horn of Africa nations Eritrea and Djibouti and has in recent years struck military co-operation accords with, besides Somalia, Nile basin states Kenya, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Its military presence in Somalia, which now enjoys international legitimacy following Friday's UN Security Council resolution, comes as foreign powers are vying to gain a foothold along Africa's Red Sea coast with tension flaring in the region, caused by Sudan's civil war, terrorism, tribal unrest in Ethiopia and the impact of climate change on economies there.
One of the world's driest nations, Egypt depends on the Nile for nearly all its freshwater needs. It has repeatedly stated that its share of the Nile water is a national security issue and that Ethiopia's dam constitutes an existential threat to its 107 million people.
More than a decade of negotiations with Ethiopia have failed to produce an agreement. Cairo wants a legally binding deal on running and filling the dam. Ethiopia contends that the dam does not pose a threat to the water security of Egypt and insists it is vital to its development.
“The River Nile, specifically, is an issue that's associated with the life and survival of Egyptians,” Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi recently said. “It's the chief source of life in our nation. Egypt is the gift of the glorious river.”
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Profile
Name: Carzaty
Founders: Marwan Chaar and Hassan Jaffar
Launched: 2017
Employees: 22
Based: Dubai and Muscat
Sector: Automobile retail
Funding to date: $5.5 million
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
History's medical milestones
1799 - First small pox vaccine administered
1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery
1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases
1895 - Discovery of x-rays
1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time
1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1953 - Structure of DNA discovered
1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place
1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill
1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.
1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out
if you go
The flights
Fly to Rome with Etihad (www.etihad.ae) or Emirates (www.emirates.com) from Dh2,480 return including taxes. The flight takes six hours. Fly from Rome to Trapani with Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) from Dh420 return including taxes. The flight takes one hour 10 minutes.
The hotels
The author recommends the following hotels for this itinerary. In Trapani, Ai Lumi (www.ailumi.it); in Marsala, Viacolvento (www.viacolventomarsala.it); and in Marsala Del Vallo, the Meliaresort Dimore Storiche (www.meliaresort.it).
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
match info
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Muniain 37')
Atletico Madrid 1 (Costa 39')
Man of the match Iker Muniain (Athletic Bilbao)
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%3Cp%3EDavid%20White%20might%20be%20new%20to%20the%20country%2C%20but%20he%20has%20clearly%20already%20built%20up%20an%20affinity%20with%20the%20place.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EAfter%20the%20UAE%20shocked%20Pakistan%20in%20the%20semi-final%20of%20the%20Under%2019%20Asia%20Cup%20last%20month%2C%20White%20was%20hugged%20on%20the%20field%20by%20Aayan%20Khan%2C%20the%20team%E2%80%99s%20captain.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EWhite%20suggests%20that%20was%20more%20a%20sign%20of%20Aayan%E2%80%99s%20amiability%20than%20anything%20else.%20But%20he%20believes%20the%20young%20all-rounder%2C%20who%20was%20part%20of%20the%20winning%20Gulf%20Giants%20team%20last%20year%2C%20is%20just%20the%20sort%20of%20player%20the%20country%20should%20be%20seeking%20to%20produce%20via%20the%20ILT20.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CHe%20is%20a%20delightful%20young%20man%2C%E2%80%9D%20White%20said.%20%E2%80%9CHe%20played%20in%20the%20competition%20last%20year%20at%2017%2C%20and%20look%20at%20his%20development%20from%20there%20till%20now%2C%20and%20where%20he%20is%20representing%20the%20UAE.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CHe%20was%20influential%20in%20the%20U19%20team%20which%20beat%20Pakistan.%20He%20is%20the%20perfect%20example%20of%20what%20we%20are%20all%20trying%20to%20achieve%20here.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CIt%20is%20about%20the%20development%20of%20players%20who%20are%20going%20to%20represent%20the%20UAE%20and%20go%20on%20to%20help%20make%20UAE%20a%20force%20in%20world%20cricket.%E2%80%9D%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A