Somalia cuts diplomatic ties with Kenya

In a televised speech broadcast on Tuesday morning, Osman Dubbe, the Somali information minister, said that Somalia has severed diplomatic ties with Kenya. Dubbe, who accused Kenya of violating Somali sovereignty and territorial integrity, also ordered all its diplomats in Kenya to return, while Kenyan diplomats in Somalia have been ordered to leave within seven days.

In addition, Somalia has also submitted a complaint to the regional bloc, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development or IGAD, to include the spat with Kenya during the upcoming virtual summit on Dec 20 on Tigray.

Speaking at a weekly news conference, Cyrus Oguna, the Kenya government spokesman, said Kenya will not follow the same route taken by Somalia, and the Kenyan government will set up a team to seek a diplomatic solution between Kenya and Somalia.

"We are a higher nation, we cannot do the same thing Somalia has done. If we do so it will look like revenge, hence, we will let the IGAD and COMESA take control of it. There is a commonality between the two countries and we share a lot. Anything that is going to undermine that must be addressed," Oguna said.

The spat comes hot on the heels of a visit by Muse Bihi Abdi, president of the self-declared country Somaliland, to Kenya. Kenya's president Uhuru Kenyatta hosted Abdi at Nairobi's State House on Monday where they discussed bilateral trade and ties between the two countries.