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Somalia has offered the US “exclusive operational control” over strategic ports on the Gulf of Aden in a bid to stop Washington recognizing breakaway regions in the troubled Horn of Africa nation. It made the offer despite not being in control of the sites.
In a Mar. 16 letter seen by Semafor, Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud offers US President Donald Trump “strategically positioned assets.” These could “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.
But the assets in question — the Berbera port and airbase, located in Somaliland, and the Bosaso port and airbase, in Puntland — are not under the control of Somalia. Mogadishu considers all of these locations part of its sovereign territory.
Somalia’s information minister did not respond to requests for an interview, and the Somali Embassy in the US did not immediately provide comment.
