Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (ADV) – Somalia has vehemently denied allegations by Kenya that it had auctioned oil blocks in a disputed section of the Indian Ocean, sources said Monday.
Over the weekend, Kenya stood by the accusation and summoned its ambassador to Mogadishu.
But local media reports quoted Somalia’s Foreign Minister Ahmad Isse Awad as saying on Sunday night that: “Somalia is not now offering, nor does it have any plans to offer, any blocks in the disputed maritime area until the parties’ maritime boundary is decided by the ICJ (International Court of Justice).
Mogadishu was referring to a case in which it sued Kenya at the international court, where Kenya is seeking to have the maritime border between the two to run parallel to the latitude eastward south of Kyunga.
Somalia wants it to run diagonally, as an extension of the land border.
Kenya’s leading Daily Nation newspaper said Monday that what added injury to the assault in the matter was that Somalia’s response filed through the Kenyan Embassy in Mogadishu.
The sources said the diplomatic correspondence was “written in uncharacteristic diplomatic format, taking on first person plural instead of the usual third person.”
By the time of going to press, the Daily Nation said its newsroom was yet to receive the correspondence.
“The government of Somalia wishes to reassure the Government of Kenya that it stands by its commitment not to undertake any unilateral activities in the disputed area until such a time as the ICJ renders its judgment,” the minister added.
But the actual cause of friction is a presentation made last week by the Somali Federal Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, depicting a profile of its oil stock to investors in London, in which it promised better returns for those who would take up the offer.
© Bur-csa – A.H – N.A / From our regional correspondent Tamba Jean-Matthew III – African Daily Voice (ADV) – Follow us on Twitter : @ADVinfo_eng
