Manama : Bahrain’s Foreign Minister yesterday blasted Somalia for ‘denying and insulting’ UAE by ‘hiding in the arms of the nation’s enemies’.
In a statement posted on his Twitter account, Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa said UAE has “stood with Somalia against the pirates and did all to support them with money, arms and medicine.”
However, “Somalia has only responded by denying, insulting and hiding in the arms of the nation’s enemies.”
Somali security staff, according to UAE, seized several million dollars from one of its civilian aircraft at Mogadishu airport this week.
The UAE said it was sending the money to the Somali army to support its operations against Islamist militants, and a government minister said internal Somali politics appeared to lie behind the incident in which the aircraft was also temporarily seized.
About $9.6 million in cash was taken from the plane that had landed from the UAE, Somali police and government sources had said.
Denouncing the act and expressing solidarity with UAE, the Kingdom’s Foreign Affairs Ministry statement said that Bahrain regrets the incident and expressed sincere appreciation for the constant support provided by the United Arab Emirates to Somalia at various humanitarian, political, financial and security levels and in all international forums and conferences.
“The Kingdom of Bahrain looks forward to cooperating with the Somali Government in the interest of achieving security, stability and prosperity for the brotherly Somali people,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, Somali Defence Minister Mohamed Mursal in a statement said that Somalia would end UAE funding for its armed forces.
The UAE’s state news agency, WAM, said some of the 47 Emirati Armed Forces personnel on the plane were held at gunpoint and assaulted by Somali security forces. The money was allocated to support the Somali army and trainees, WAM reported.