Somalia severs diplomatic ties with Guinea
CGTN
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Somalia said Thursday that it has severed all diplomatic ties with Guinea.

The announcement was made by Foreign Minister Ahmed Isse Awad, who also cautioned other countries against violating the sovereignty and unity of Somalia.

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the federal government of Somalia has decided to cut diplomatic relations with the Republic of Guinea.

“The decision comes after Guinea accorded the protocol of a head of state in Conakry, Guinea to the leader of a separatist movement in Somaliland in northern Somalia, callously disregarding all relevant UN resolutions and African consensus,” it said.

The statement was referring to Guinea’s welcoming of Somaliland’s President Muse Bihi Abdi, who is visiting Guinea’s capital city of Conakry at the invitation of President Alpha Conde.

Formerly a British protectorate, Somaliland merged with former Italian Somaliland in 1960 to create Somalia.

But it seceded and declared itself independent in 1991 as Somalia plunged into chaos after the fall of autocrat Siad Barre. Somaliland has been pushing for independence ever since.

It has its own government based in the self-appointed capital of Hargeisa, its own army and prints its own currency.

It is also considered much more stable than the rest of Somalia, which is plagued by clan disputes, corruption and a violent insurgency waged by the Al-Shabaab militant group.