Somalia’s unity finds fresh backing — and an opening — after an external push to recognize a breakaway entity stirred a swift international backlash this week. The flurry of statements, arriving around Dec. 26, rallied behind Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, offering Mogadishu and the Waqooyi-beri (northeastern) administration a rare moment to convert diplomatic momentum into concrete political, security and governance gains.
The reaction followed what Somali commentators describe as an Israeli initiative, linked to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to extend recognition to a secessionist group. Instead of upending the map, the move galvanized a broad coalition in support of Somalia’s borders — a reminder that, in this volatile corner of the Horn of Africa, principles of territorial integrity still command meaningful global consensus.
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Countries including Turkey, China, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar publicly underscored Somalia’s sovereignty. Multilateral bodies — the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Arab League, the Gulf Cooperation Council, the African Union and the European Union — condemned the attempt to peel away Somali territory. For a government contending with insurgency, humanitarian strain and institutional rebuilding, that alignment is no small diplomatic asset.
What comes next matters more. Statements alone can fade; aligned action can change trajectories. If Somali leaders pace themselves, avoid factional traps and keep the message consistent, they can turn this episode into a strategic inflection point: isolating secessionist agendas, hardening state institutions and widening the circle of partners ready to invest in long-term stability.
That begins in Mogadishu. The Federal Government can consolidate this moment if it does four things quickly and well.
- Double down on diplomacy with competence and unity. Activate seasoned Somali diplomats and subject-matter experts across the political spectrum — allies and critics alike — to sustain the current tempo in foreign capitals, multilateral forums and media. This is a moment for merit and integrity, not patronage.
- Close ranks at home. Put the national interest ahead of office politics, and build consensus on the hardest dossiers — particularly elections and constitutional reform. A credible, inclusive policy line strengthens the country’s hand abroad and stabilizes governance at home.
- Reframe engagement with secessionist actors around rule of law. Treat organized attempts to fracture the state as criminal and unconstitutional conduct, not a bargaining chip to be intermittently rewarded with projects or cash. Consistency here deters opportunism and reassures partners.
- Back Waqooyi-beri as a frontline stakeholder. Provide political, financial and technical support that expands the administration’s capacity in security, service delivery and public administration — recognizing that communities in the northeast have borne early and heavy costs from these disputes.
Those steps require discipline, but the payoffs are tangible: a clearer message to foreign partners, a firmer domestic compact and fewer incentives for spoilers to test the system’s seams. They also ease a perennial dilemma in Somalia’s politics — the tendency to respond to provocation with fragmented, short-term fixes that leave institutions weaker.
For Waqooyi-beri, the work is different but just as urgent: translate solidarity into resilience.
- Set a strategy calibrated to the new landscape. Define political, legal and security objectives in light of the current rupture, anchored in the constitution and aligned with the federal center.
- Organize for self-reliance while engaging partners. Build integrated plans that link defense preparedness, local revenue, livelihoods and basic services so communities can withstand shocks — whether diplomatic, economic or security-related.
- Cultivate targeted international partnerships. Seek technical, financial and training support where the administration is most vulnerable — from institution-building and border management to justice, budgeting and disaster response — and embed accountability that earns long-term confidence.
- Invest in communication capacity. Expand professional media outreach at home and abroad to explain the administration’s mandates, constraints and progress, and to counter disinformation that exploits local grievances.
None of this will be simple. Even with international statements stacked in Somalia’s favor, the drivers of fragmentation remain: persistent underdevelopment, uneven security, politicized federalism and the lure of quick external deals that promise status without solving problems on the ground. That is precisely why this week’s diplomatic tailwind is valuable — not as a victory lap, but as a window to do harder things faster and with broader cover.
The measure of success will be whether Mogadishu and Waqooyi-beri can move in concert: projecting one voice on territorial integrity, making domestic politics less combustible, and showing citizens that unity delivers. If they do, the secessionist project and the foreign gambits behind it will look less like inevitabilities and more like what they are — distractions from the work of building a durable state. The opportunity is real, but so is the risk of squandering it. The choice, as ever, rests in Somali hands.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
