MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somalia’s president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo on Tuesday said Kenya did whatever it took to “isolate us politically” to pressure his government in abandoning the maritime case at the ICJ, shortly after the world court ruled largely in Somalia’s favor in dispute over potentially oil and gas rich chunk of the Indian Ocean.
Kenya’s military carried out air strikes that claimed the lives of many Somalis and their property, the president said, adding that Nairobi had also begun a campaign aimed at tarnishing the image of his government in the eyes of world governments.
Farmajo welcomed the court’s verdict, expressing hope that Kenya will do the same and “forget its ambition based on misleading and smokescreen”, and would “see the decision of the court as an opportunity to strengthen the relationship of the two countries”.
Kenya got only a small slice of the disputed tract of sea off the East African coast in the judgement by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) based in the Hague, Netherlands.
Somalia’s leader urged Kenya to “respect the international rule of law”, hailing ICJ verdict as a “fair indication of the transparency of the International Court of Justice”.
Judges of the top UN court on Tuesday ruled there was “no agreed maritime boundary” in force and drew a new border close to the one claimed by Somalia.
The court’s ruling is final and cannot be appealed, but states can go to the UN Security Council if another fails to abide by its judgment.
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