In surprise move, Kenya suspends flights from Somalia
A policeman (R) stands next to the international arrival gate on August 1, 2020 at the Jomo Kenyatta international airport in Nairobi.
Kenyaannounced Tuesday that flights between Nairobi and Mogadishu had been suspended, just days afterSomaliasaid diplomatic ties with its neighbour had been normalised following months of tensions.
TheKenyaCivil Aviation Authority (KCAA) said commercial flights to and fromSomaliawould be paused for three months, without giving a reason.
"All flights betweenKenyaandSomaliaare suspended expect medevac flights and United Nations flights on humanitarian missions only," the regulator said.
KCAA director-general Gilbert Kibe told AFP the suspension was "a decision by the government" but gave no further details.
The directive appeared to catch some Somali aviation officials and travel agents by surprise.
"We had not been given a prior notice, and there's been no explanation about the reason so far," an airport tower operator in Mogadishu told AFP on condition of anonymity.
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The suspension comes a day afterSomaliasaid shipments of khat fromKenyaremained on hold. Khat is a narcotic leaf popular inSomalia.
Somaliaannounced last week that bilateral ties withKenyahad been restored, citing "the interests of good neighbourliness" as motivating its decision.
Nairobi said it took note of the statement and was looking forward "to further normalisation of relations by the Somali authorities."
Mogadishu cut off diplomatic relations in December after Nairobi hosted the political leadership of Somaliland, a breakaway state not recognised bySomalia's central government.
Somaliahas long bristled over what it callsKenya's meddling in regions over its border, while Nairobi has accused Mogadishu of using it as a scapegoat for its own political problems.
The pair have also engaged in a long-running territorial dispute over a stretch of the Indian Ocean claimed by both nations believed to hold valuable deposits of oil and gas, and have sought international arbitration over the matter.
