Tuesday, May 13, 2014
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THE Somalia ambassador Mohamed Nur Ali has returned to Nairobi after three weeks in Mogadishu. He was recalled following the arrest of a diplomat Siyad Mohamed Shire, late last month.Speaking to the Star yesterday, Nur said Kenya wrote to the Hassan Shiekh Mohamud-led administration apologising for the arrest of the consul. "The matter has been resolved. Kenya wrote to us regretting about what happened. That's why I am back as the ambassador of Somalia to Kenya," he said.
Somalia leaders including President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed have asked for "an official apology" from Kenya following Shire's arrest.
Asked whether Somalia is unhappy about Kenya's latest overtures to Jubaland and Somaliland, the two self-declared independent factions in Somalia, Nur said Kenya can open an office in any part of Somalia but "in consultation with the government of Somalia through the ministry of foreign affairs".
"Kenya can open any office anywhere in Somalia as long it follows the right protocol. The two regions are part of Somalia and must be recognised as such," he said. Sources at the Foreign Affairs ministry said Kenya wrote to Somalia offering an apology.