Somalia alleges ‘foreign hand’ in airspace disruptions

Somalia

MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somalia’s civil aviation authority on Tuesday alleged that a “foreign hand” was aiding separatist authorities of Somaliland to disrupt flights over the country’s airspace and threatened “tough measures”, prompting a rebuke from Hargeisa.

In a response to the statement, Somaliland government accused Somalia’s civil aviation authority of violating its airspace and of “politicizing” civilian flights.

As tensions continue to simmer over who should control the Somali airspace, Hargeisa alleged that Mogadishu is planning to issue a NOTAM announcing closure of Somaliland airspace and threatened that they have contingency plans to counter such moves.

The dispute between the two sides surfaced after Mogadishu turned back several Ethiopian flights suspected of carrying VIP delegations headed for Hargeisa, triggering the ire of authorities of the break-away region.

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