Mogadishu(Mogadishu24)-The Federal Government of Somalia on Thursday closed two consulates of Ethiopia’s diplomatic missions in Garowe city in Puntland State and Hargeysa city in the breakaway republic of Somalia, and informed Ethiopian Ambassador to the country to return back for consultations.

The office of the Somali Prime Minister said that the decision will be effective within a week, ordering Ethiopian diplomats based in those two cities to leave the country within the given period, starting from today, April 4, 2024.

“It would be a violation of the sovereignty of the Federal Government of Somalia, if the Ethiopian diplomats don’t abide by the orders and there will be further actions taken against them, in accordance with diplomatic norms”, said, the decree issued after the cabinet meeting.

Somali Government decision to severing diplomatic ties with the neighboring country, Ethiopia came a day after Ethiopia’s Ministry of foreign Affairs announced yesterday that it had agreed to enhance multifaceted relations with Puntland State in Somalia.

This move also came three months after the Ethiopian Government entered port deal with Somaliland on January 1st, 2024, a move that led a diplomatic escalation between the Somalia and Ethiopia.