Egypt strengthens its presence in the Horn of Africa through alliance with Somalia and Eritrea

Egypt continues to increase its regional presence in the southern Red Sea and the Horn of Africa. To this end, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi participated in a tripartite summit in Asmara with the leaders of Eritrea, Isaias Afwerki, and Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. In addition to strengthening their influence in the region, the tripartite alliance is intended to create a bloc against Ethiopia. 

The summit came a day after the commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo - one of the parties involved in the war in Sudan - accused Cairo of bombing his forces, highlighting its military involvement in the conflict in the country. 

Egypt is thus ending the stance it had taken during the war in Sudan, choosing to intervene directly to demonstrate that it remains an influential regional actor that protects its interests.    

With regard to the Horn of Africa, this summit comes amid growing regional tensions. While the Eritrean Ministry of Information merely stated that the purpose of the meeting was to ‘address the strengthening of relations between the three countries, in addition to regional security and stability issues’, it is believed that the meeting is aimed at forming a tripartite alliance to confront Ethiopia.  

For this reason, this meeting, as well as Al-Sisi's trip, is likely to further aggravate the situation. The summit coincides with the strengthening of military relations between Cairo and Mogadishu after Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding with the Somaliland region, under which it would obtain a port and naval base in the southern Red Sea. 

The Egyptian presidency, for its part, said the visit was aimed at ‘exploring ways to strengthen bilateral relations in various fields and regional situations in a manner that supports the development process and achieves the interests of the peoples of the region’. 

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has already spoken out about Egypt's growing influence in the region and its cooperation with neighbouring countries. ‘We will not allow them to harm us, we will humiliate anyone who dares to threaten us to deter them,’ the Ethiopian leader declared, adding that he will not negotiate ‘with anyone over Ethiopia's sovereignty and dignity‘. 

Egypt has chosen to intervene in the continent's crises in order to reinforce its role as a key player in Africa. In Sudan, for example, Egypt is positioning itself with army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan despite being part of regional and international diplomatic efforts to mediate the conflict. 

FAR has accused Egypt of using US weaponry in its recent attacks, stating that ‘if the Americans had not agreed, the bombs would not have reached Sudan’.  

Cairo, however, has denied involvement in the war, saying that Egypt is committed to the ‘stability of Sudan and the preservation of its state institutions’. Egypt's former deputy foreign minister, Ambassador Hussein Haridi, told Al-Arab that Egypt ‘has been working since the first day of the war in Sudan to end it’. ‘Proof of this is that it welcomed Sudan's neighbouring countries in search of political solutions because if the conflict continues, Egypt will pay a heavy price.’ 

On the other hand, Sudanese political analyst Mohamed Torshin explained to the Arab media that Egypt opposes ‘any group that possesses weapons outside the framework of the official institutions of states, as it is aware that this has repercussions on its security’.