Somalia condemns Israel's 'naked invasion' ahead of emergency UN meeting over Somaliland
Israel is seeking to use Somaliland as a base for operations against Yemen and as a potential site for the forcible displacement of Palestinians from Gaza
Somali leaders condemned Israel’s recognition of the breakaway region of Somaliland on 28 December, calling it a “naked invasion” ahead of an emergency UN Security Council meeting to address the move.
While speaking in a joint session of parliament on Sunday, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud denounced Israel’s abuse of Somalia’s sovereignty and called on Somaliland’s leaders to enter negotiations to preserve the country’s territorial integrity.
“I am encouraging the Somali people to be calm and to defend the unity and the independence of our country, which is facing this naked invasion,” the president said.
On Friday, Israel became the first UN member to establish full diplomatic relations with Somaliland, which broke away from Somalia in 1991 after a civil war.
The self-declared state has its own constitution, currency, and army, but has failed to gain international recognition.
Speaking with Al-Jazeera Arabic, Somali Prime Minister Hamza Barre said that Israel was “searching for a foothold in the Horn of Africa” and called on it to recognize and accept a Palestinian state instead.
Israel is courting Somaliland as a potential destination for Palestinians forcibly displaced from Gaza.
Due to Somaliland’s strategic location in the Gulf of Aden, Israel also wishes to use the breakaway territory as a base for potential attacks against Yemen and its Ansarallah-led armed forces.
The UN Security Council announced it will convene an emergency session on Monday to discuss Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, which was condemned by a group of West Asian, African, and Islamic states, as well as the EU.
A joint statement issued by 21 countries called the move a threat to “peace and security in the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea and its serious effects on international peace and security as a whole.”
The countries, including Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and Iran, noted “the full rejection of any potential link between such measure and any attempts to forcibly expel the Palestinian people out of their land.”
The statement insisted that “the recognition of parts of states” violates international law and the UN charter.
The US State Department issued a statement on Saturday confirming that it continued to recognize the territorial integrity of Somalia, “which includes the territory of Somaliland.”
US President Donald Trump claimed he is not ready to recognize Somaliland.
“Does anyone know what Somaliland is, really?” Trump told the New York Post from his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Meanwhile, the Al-Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Somalia, vowed Saturday to resist Israeli attempts “to claim or use parts of Somaliland.”
“We will not accept it, and we will fight against it,” Al-Shabaab said in a statement.
The statement warned that Israel “has decided to expand into parts of the Somali territories” to support “the apostate administration in the northwest regions.”