Somalia condemns Israel’s recognition of Somaliland as regional “threat”
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud denounced Israel’s decision to recognize Somaliland, calling it “a threat to the security and stability of the world and the region” in an emergency parliamentary session that underscored rising tensions in the Horn of Africa.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Friday that Israel would become the first country to recognize Somaliland, the self-proclaimed republic that has sought international recognition since declaring independence from Somalia in 1991. Mohamud said the move “is tantamount to a blunt aggression against the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, and the unity of the people of the Somali Republic.”
Somalia’s government and the African Union reacted swiftly and angrily on Friday after the announcement. Somalia condemned what it called a “deliberate attack” on its sovereignty. Egypt, Turkey, the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council and the Saudi-based Organisation of Islamic Cooperation also issued statements condemning Israel’s decision.
Somaliland, perched on the Gulf of Aden, has long argued that it meets the criteria of statehood. It operates its own currency, issues passports and maintains a separate security force, even as it remains unrecognized internationally. Its strategic position along one of the world’s busiest maritime corridors has amplified the diplomatic stakes as global and regional powers navigate security and trade interests across the Red Sea and the broader Horn of Africa.
Israel’s recognition marks a break with the decades-long international stance of withholding formal recognition, and it immediately drew pushback from African and Middle Eastern capitals. The breadth of condemnation — spanning the African Union, the GCC and the OIC — reflected concern over sovereignty norms and the risk of escalating political frictions in an area already contending with conflict, piracy threats and shifting alliances.
Mohamud’s remarks channeled Somalia’s long-standing position that its borders are inviolable. He framed Israel’s move as an assault not only on Somali sovereignty but on the principle of territorial integrity in Africa — a foundational tenet reinforced by the African Union and its predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity, to discourage secessionist conflicts.
For Somaliland, the recognition is a symbolic breakthrough in a decades-long campaign for legitimacy. For Somalia, it is a challenge to central authority at a sensitive time and a potential test of regional diplomacy. The competing narratives — statehood aspirations versus territorial integrity — now sit at the center of a fast-evolving dispute with implications for security coordination along the Gulf of Aden.
As reactions mount, the political calculus across the region will hinge on whether other states follow Israel’s lead or align with the African Union and broader Arab and Muslim organizations in opposing it. For now, Somalia’s leadership is presenting a united front at home and rallying support abroad to blunt a decision it sees as destabilizing far beyond its borders.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
