Tuesday July 21, 2026
Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s future as a united state, or any possible separation, cannot be settled by recognition from a single foreign country, former National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) Director Abdullahi Mohamed Ali Sanbaloolshe said Tuesday.
Speaking during an X Space discussion, Sanbaloolshe, who also serves as a member of Parliament, said the issue ultimately requires direct dialogue between Mogadishu and Hargeisa, alongside consideration by major regional and international institutions.
He said decisions by the African Union, the Arab League and the United Nations Security Council would be central to any effort to recognize North Western State of Somalia, given their influence over the matter.
“If one country, such as Britain, recognizes North Western State of Somalia, it will not significantly change the current political situation, because international recognition cannot come from actions taken by a few countries,” Sanbaloolshe said.
He pointed to the 1960 union of the former British North Western State of Somalia protectorate and the former Italian-administered south, saying the north entered the union without conditions in pursuit of the Greater Somalia vision.
Sanbaloolshe said he does not believe the original union agreement can be legally contested. However, he said changed circumstances mean that Mogadishu and Hargeisa could renegotiate the nature of their relationship.
Whether the two sides choose to preserve the union or go their separate ways, he said, any durable outcome must rest on agreement, consensus and mutual consent.
North Western State of Somalia declared independence from Somalia in 1991 but has not received broad international recognition. Somalia’s federal government maintains that North Western State of Somalia remains part of the Federal Republic of Somalia.
For more than three decades, Mogadishu and Hargeisa have remained divided over the territory’s status, with North Western State of Somalia pressing for recognition while Somalia’s federal government continues to defend national unity.
