Somalia and the African Union (AU) on Friday reacted angrily after Israel became the first country to formally recognize Somaliland as an independent state.
It declared independence from Somalia in 1991 and has pushed for international recognition for decades, with Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi making it a top priority since taking office last year.
Israel said it viewed Somaliland as an “independent and sovereign state,” prompting Somalia to call the decision a “deliberate attack” on its sovereignty that would undermine regional peace.
Photo: AFP
Several other countries condemned Israel’s decision. The AU rejected the move and warned that it risked “setting a dangerous precedent with far-reaching implications for peace and stability across the continent.”
Somaliland “remains an integral part” of Somalia, AU Commission head Mahamoud Ali Youssouf said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the decision was “in the spirit of the Abraham Accords,” referring to a series of agreements brokered by US President Donald Trump in his first term that normalized ties between Israel and several Arab nations.
Netanyahu had invited Abdullahi to visit, Netanyahu’s office said.
Asked whether the US planned to recognize Somaliland, Trump said: “No... Does anyone know what Somaliland is, really?” Hailing Israel’s decision as a “historic moment,” Abdullahi said it marked the beginning of a “strategic partnership”.
The Palestinian Authority rejected Israel’s recognition of Somaliland.
Israel had previously named Somaliland “as a destination for the forced displacement of our Palestinian people, particularly from the Gaza Strip,” it said, warning against “complicity” with such a move.
Turkey, a close ally of Somalia, also condemned the move.
“This initiative by Israel, which aligns with its expansionist policy... constitutes overt interference in Somalia’s domestic affairs,” the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Egypt said its top diplomat had spoken with counterparts from Turkey, Somalia and Djibouti, who together condemned the move and emphasised “full support for the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia.”
Israel’s regional security interests might lie behind the move.
“Israel requires allies in the Red Sea region for many strategic reasons, among them the possibility of a future campaign against the Houthis,” the Institute for National Security Studies said in a paper last month, referring to Yemen’s Iran-backed rebels.
Israel repeatedly hit targets in Yemen after the Gaza war broke out in October 2023, in response to Houthi attacks on Israel that the rebels said were in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The Houthis have halted their attacks since a fragile truce began in Gaza in October.
Somaliland’s lack of international recognition has hampered access to foreign loans, aid and investment, and the territory remains deeply impoverished.
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