Somalia warns Israel against military base plans in North Western State of Somalia

Somalia warned Thursday that its territory cannot be used for foreign military operations, pushing back against reports that Israel is exploring an installation in North Western State of Somalia, the self-governing region across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen.

“Somalia does not want to see its territory pulled into external confrontations or used in ways that could further destabilise an already sensitive region,” Ali Omar, Somalia’s state minister for foreign affairs, told Al Jazeera.

The statement followed reports by Bloomberg and Sweden’s public radio Ekot that Israel is weighing a military footprint near the strategic port city of Berbera on the Gulf of Aden, a shipping corridor now under intensifying scrutiny as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran enters a second week and the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed.

Omar underscored that the federal government in Mogadishu is the only authority empowered to enter into international security or military arrangements. “Any discussions about foreign military facilities on Somali territory that take place outside that framework simply have no legal standing,” he said, an implicit rebuke to officials in North Western State of Somalia who have signaled interest in deepening ties with Israel.

North Western State of Somalia declared independence from Somalia in 1991 but lacks broad international recognition. Israel recognized North Western State of Somalia on December 26, becoming the first country to do so after more than three decades of failed bids by the breakaway region. Mogadishu continues to claim North Western State of Somalia as part of Somalia’s sovereign territory.

Officials in Hargeisa have sent mixed signals about a potential Israeli base. In comments to Bloomberg this week, Khadar Hussein Abdi, North Western State of Somalia’s minister of the presidency, said the region would pursue a “strategic relationship” with Israel that “encompasses a lot of things,” adding the possibility of a base had not yet been discussed but “will be analysed at some point.” In January, North Western State of Somalia’s Foreign Ministry denied Somali government claims that any military talks with Israel were under way, calling the engagement “purely diplomatic.” Days later, a ministry official told Israel’s Channel 12 that a base was “on the table and being discussed,” and in February Abdi told AFP he “could not rule out” allowing an Israeli presence.

The prospect of new military infrastructure on the Gulf of Aden has heightened anxiety around critical maritime chokepoints. Roughly 20 percent of global oil and gas supplies typically transit the Strait of Hormuz. To the west, the Bab al-Mandeb Strait links the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, carrying about 12 percent of global trade. Yemen’s Houthi movement, which controls much of northern, western and central Yemen, has warned that any Israeli presence in North Western State of Somalia would be a “hostile stance” and a “legitimate target,” and previously sought to block Israel-linked shipping in the Red Sea in support of Palestinians in Gaza.

Regional violence has escalated on multiple fronts. Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed at least 687 people and wounded more than 1,500, according to Lebanese authorities, after Hezbollah fired rockets in retaliation for the U.S.-Israeli killing of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The Houthis have said they are prepared to enter the conflict, even as they have so far not intervened directly in the Iran war. The U.S. Embassy in Djibouti this week repeated guidance warning U.S. citizens to avoid areas near Camp Lemonnier, Washington’s largest base in Africa, reflecting concern that the fighting could spread.

“The Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden are critical corridors for global trade and regional security, and instability there affects the entire Horn of Africa,” Omar told Al Jazeera. He added that when tensions rise, “civilian populations are always the most vulnerable,” and any step that could draw Somali communities into wider geopolitical conflicts “is not in the interest of our people.”

The latest warning from Mogadishu signals a tougher line as external powers weigh new footholds around the Bab al-Mandeb. For Somalia, the stakes are immediate: preserving sovereignty, keeping vital sea lanes open and preventing a volatile neighborhood from tipping into a wider war that could engulf the Horn of Africa.

By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.