The announcement of the decision, which includes the closure of the Ethiopian consulate in the city of Hargeisa, was released at the end of the cabinet meeting headed by Prime Minister Hamza Barre, and based on what Somalia authorities qualify as ‘interference in the internal affairs of the country’.

Hargeisa is the capital of the Somaliland region, which proclaimed secession from the rest of Somalia, but so far lacks regional or international diplomatic recognition.

All indications are that the Somali decision was triggered by the signing of a cooperation agreement between Ethiopia and the state of Puntland, another breakaway region that days ago withdrew from the Somali federal system, and announced that it will henceforth govern itself independently.

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