Somalia's government has said it was recalling its ambassador to Ethiopia for urgent consultations after Addis Ababa signed a controversial port deal with the breakaway region of Somaliland.
Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre on Tuesday also declared that Somalia would defend its territory by "all legal means possible" following Monday's agreement.
"I urge our Somali citizens to calm down, I assure them that we are committed to defending our nation, like we have done in the past. Not an inch of our land, sea or air can be violated," he said.
The announcement followed an emergency cabinet meeting that was convened to decide on a response to the deal, which it has termed null and void.
Landlocked Ethiopia on Monday signed an initial agreement with Somaliland to gain access to the Red Sea. It would see Ethiopia use Somaliland's Red Sea port of Berbera and establish a marine force base on the coastline.
Endangered stability
In a statement, Somali's cabinet said that Ethiopia's action, which also included recognising Somaliland as an independent nation in due course, endangered stability and peace in the region.
Somaliland seceded from Somalia more than 30 years ago but is not recognised by the African Union or the United Nations as an independent state. Somalia still considers Somaliland part of its territory
Ethiopia lost its access to the sea when Eritrea seceded in 1993. Ethiopia has been using the port in neighboring Djibouti for most of its imports and exports.
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