Somali rules out quit notice to Kenya and Ethiopia troops 

A Kenyan Defence Forces soldier stands guard at a clinic in Kismayu, Somalia on February 26, 2013. Somalia has denied ordering the foreign troops out of the country. FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP 

Somalia has denied ordering Kenya and Ethiopia to withdraw their troops from the country.

State minister Farah Sheikh Abdulkadir dismissed the reports that were transmitted by an independent broadcaster in Mogadishu and quoted by a number of Somali news web sites.

The report also dominated the public discussions in the capital Mogadishu on Wednesday, with many people wondering the consequences of Kenyan and Ethiopian troops leaving Somalia within 48 hours.

At a press conference at Villa Somalia, the State House in Mogadishu, Mr Abdulkadir rejected the reports as unfounded and expressed surprise.

“We received today reports falsely propagated by (a section of) the independent media, saying that Somali President (Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud) requested neighbouring countries to withdraw their forces,” stated Mr Abdulkadir.

He added: “We would like to emphasise that such information is baseless and casts doubts on the credibility of the concerned media.”

The normally reserved minister underlined that President Mohamoud maintained amicable relations with both his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.

“Somali President met these (Ethiopian and Kenyan) leaders five times over the past six weeks,” disclosed the state minister.

“It demonstrates the depth of the relations between Somalia and its neighbours,” he added.

The minister, who did not name the culpable media groups, stated that any misinformation could destabilise Somalia and its neighbours.

Ethiopia and Kenya deployed thousands of troops that are helping the Somali government in the fight against the Al-Qaeda linked Al-Shabaab movement.