Fears are rife that Somaliland and Somalia could go to war in early 2019 following Somalia’s government move to license a consortium of Chinese firms to fish in Somaliland waters. In a move that has infuriated the people and government of Somaliland the Somalia government leased some Chinese companies under an umbrella called COFA to trawl inside the waters of Somaliland. The companies have armored ships numbering 33 and are said to be off the coast of Somalia.
According to reports the Somalia government is serving a 200 million debt it took from the Chinese to build the Mogadishu port. The Somalia government has conned the Chinese companies by informing them that it controls all the coastline of the country before known as Somalia which include the territory of independent Somaliland which has a 800 km coastline.
Somaliland minister of livestock and fishery Mr.Hassan Gafadhi has warned the Chinese companies not to fish in Somaliland waters or they will face dire consequences if they dare.
Somaliland has an efficient and effective coast guard that has protected its water from pirates whereas Somalia’s shores are infested with pirates.
