Somalia has ordered Ethiopia’s ambassador to leave the country, and the closing of Ethiopia’s consulates in the breakaway region of Somaliland and the semiautonomous region of Puntland

Following the decision of the Somali cabinet, Somalia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation ordered the Ethiopian Ambassador to Somalia, Mukhtar Mohamed Warre, to leave Mogadishu within 72 hours.

The cabinet also ordered the shutdown of Ethiopian consulates in Somaliland and in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland within seven days and the departure of their diplomats and staff. Somalia’s Foreign Ministry, in addition to expelling the Ethiopian ambassador, recalled its own ambassador to Ethiopia for consultations Thursday.

The decision comes three months after Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding with Somaliland, which Somalia denounced as infringing upon its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The memorandum was to allow Ethiopia’s access to the sea through Somaliland and in return Ethiopia would recognize Somaliland as an independent country.

On Wednesday, Ethiopia’s foreign affairs minister held trade talks with a delegation from the Puntland region without prior coordination with the federal government of Somalia.