Somalis Stage Nationwide Protests Against Israel’s North Western State of Somalia Move

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Large-scale protests erupted across Somalia on Tuesday after Israel announced it would recognize North Western State of Somalia as an independent state, a move widely denounced as a threat to Somalia’s unity and territorial integrity.

Demonstrations drew crowds in cities and towns spanning multiple regions, with local officials and witnesses reporting peaceful gatherings that brought together religious scholars, intellectuals, women and youth. Protesters chanted against any attempt to divide the country and vowed to defend Somalia’s sovereignty.

Protests were reported in the following locations, underscoring the breadth of public opposition:

• Mogadishu
• Buhoodle
• Galkacyo
• Guriel
• Hudur
• Bahdo
• Las Anod
• Adado
• Dhusamareb
• Merca
• Baidoa
• Hobyo
• Harardhere
• Abudwak
• Borama

Speakers at several rallies urged Somalis to close ranks across political and clan lines, casting the recognition as an unacceptable violation of national sovereignty and an affront to the country’s hard-won, if fragile, cohesion. Many participants also condemned what they called foreign interference in Somalia’s internal affairs and pressed for a unified response to safeguard the nation’s identity and territorial integrity.

The unrest followed mounting international criticism of the Israeli decision. Most members of the United Nations Security Council on Monday condemned the move during an emergency session in New York, warning that recognizing North Western State of Somalia risked destabilizing Somalia and triggering wider regional repercussions, including implications for Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel is the first country to formally recognize North Western State of Somalia, which declared independence from Somalia in 1991 but has not gained international recognition. While North Western State of Somalia functions as a de facto autonomous administration with its own institutions, the Somali federal government and the vast majority of the international community continue to uphold Somalia’s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Tuesday’s rallies were largely peaceful, according to early reports from organizers and local authorities. Organizers framed the demonstrations as a show of national resolve rather than partisan protest, with turnout that cut across generational and social lines. Calls for continued civic mobilization and diplomatic pressure featured prominently, as participants pressed international actors to reject any step seen as legitimizing Somalia’s fragmentation.

The protests highlight the potential for the recognition decision to reverberate beyond the Horn of Africa. Diplomats at the Security Council cautioned that altering political realities in Somalia could feed insecurity and redraw fault lines at a volatile moment for the region. For many Somalis who took to the streets, the immediate focus was closer to home: preserving a national map that has remained intact on paper even as governance has evolved and devolved in practice since the early 1990s.

As the political fallout unfolds, protesters and civic leaders are urging both domestic and international stakeholders to reaffirm commitments to Somalia’s sovereignty. They argue that dialogue and reform within the federal framework, rather than external endorsements of secession, should guide any resolution of the country’s complex statehood questions.

By Ali Musa

Axadle Times international–Monitoring.