Somalia offers US exclusive control of air bases, ports

NAIROBI: Somalia is prepared to offer the United States exclusive control of strategic air bases and ports, its president said in a letter to President Donald Trump seen by Reuters on Friday.

In the March 16 letter, authenticated by a regional diplomat with knowledge of the matter, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said the assets included air bases in Balidogle and Berbera as well as the ports of Berbera and Bosaso.

Somalia’s foreign affairs and information ministers did not immediately respond to requests for comments.

The offer could give the United States a firmer military presence in the Horn of Africa region as it looks to counter the threat from Islamist militants in Somalia and across the region.

“These strategically positioned assets provide an opportunity to bolster American engagement in the region, ensuring uninterrupted military and logistical access while preventing external competitors from establishing a presence in this critical corridor,” the letter said.

Berbera is in the breakaway Somaliland region, meaning the offer for the port and air base there would put the government there and Somalia on a collision course.

“What cooperation? The USA gave up this corrupted regime called Somalia. The USA is now ready to deal with Somaliland, who has shown the world to be a peaceful, stable, and democratic nation,” Abdirahman Dahir Aden, Somaliland’s foreign minister, told Reuters.

“The USA is not stupid. They know who they need to deal with when it comes to Berbera port,” he added.

Somalia opposes any move for Somaliland to be recognized as an independent nation.

Balidogle is about 90 km (55 miles) northwest of the capital, Mogadishu, while Bosaso is in the semi-autonomous state of Puntland.