Somaliland agrees to set up UAE military base
MPs in the self-declared republic of Somaliland have agreed to allow the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to set up a military base in the port of Berbera, the BBC reported.
Observers say the deal has proved controversial among Somaliland’s neighbours in the Horn of Africa.
The UAE already has a military facility at Eritrea’s Assab port for use in a campaign against Yemeni rebels, the BBC added.
It is part of a coalition that has fought Houthi rebels and imposed a naval blockade on Yemen since 2015, according to the BBC.
More than 10,000 people have been killed and 40,000 wounded since then, according to the UN, said the BBC.
Somaliland’s President Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo told MPs the military base would help create jobs, the Associated Press agency reports.
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