Officials from the Ethiopian government, including the Minister of Defense, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, and other officials, have arrived in Mogadishu.

These officials will discuss with the Federal Government of Somalia the presence of Ethiopian troops in Somalia, as the AUSSOM operation begins.

The Ethiopian government is striving to maintain its troops’ presence in Somalia to be part of the AUSSOM operation.

Ethiopia argues that its presence in Somalia helps protect its border from attacks by Al-Shabaab.

The arrival of this delegation in Mogadishu comes at a time when the Somali government previously excluded Ethiopia from the AUSSOM operation.