Thursday August 7, 2025
Mogadishu HOL) — Scores of residents in Somalia’s border town of Beled Hawo staged a protest Thursday against a recent order by Ethiopian forces calling for the withdrawal of Somali government troops from the area.
The directive, issued by Ethiopian military officers operating in Gedo region, demanded that Somali national forces led by former regional security commander Cabdirashiid Janan vacate the town, a move that has sparked widespread public backlash and raised concerns about sovereignty violations.
Protesters from all segments of the local population, including elders, youth, and women, marched through the streets carrying Somali flags and chanting slogans denouncing foreign interference. Demonstrators voiced strong support for the presence of Somali federal troops in Beled Hawo and condemned what they described as unlawful pressure from Ethiopian forces.
“We reject any foreign directive that undermines our right to self-governance,” said one protester who spoke on condition of anonymity. “The national army is here to protect us. This is our town, and no outsider should dictate our security.”
The Ethiopian presence in Gedo has long been controversial, particularly the deployment of non-ATMIS troops operating outside the mandate of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia. While Ethiopia is a key ATMIS troop-contributing country, it also maintains bilateral deployments across the Somali-Ethiopian border, often without coordination with Somali authorities.
As of Thursday, the Somali federal government had not issued an official response to the Ethiopian demand.