Somali president: Israel's recognition of Somaliland 'threat' to regional stability
Somalia rejects Somaliland’s independence, views it as part of its territory, and considers any direct engagement with it a violation of sovereignty and national unity.
Israel's recognition of the breakaway region of Somaliland "is (a) threat to the security and stability of the world and the region," Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud told an emergency parliamentary session Sunday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Friday announcement, making his country the first to recognise Somaliland, "is tantamount to a blunt aggression against the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, and the unity of the people of the Somali Republic," Mohamud said.
“The illegal aggression of PM Netanyahu in recognising a part of Somalia's Northern region is against international law,” Mohamud wrote earlier on US social media platform X.
“Meddling with Somalia’s internal affairs is contrary to established legal & diplomatic rules. Somalia & its people are one: inseparable by division from a far,” he added.
Israel became the world’s first country to recognise Somaliland as a sovereign state, drawing condemnation from Türkiye, and countries in Africa and the Middle East, among others.
Somaliland, which has lacked official recognition since declaring independence from Somalia in 1991, operates as a de facto independent administrative, political, and security entity, with the central government unable to assert control over the region and its leadership unable to secure international recognition of independence.
The Somali government refuses to recognise Somaliland as an independent state, considers it an integral part of its territory, and views any direct deals or engagement with it as a violation of the country's sovereignty and unity.