African regional bodies reject Israeli recognition of Somaliland

Africa’s regional governing bodies on Saturday rejected Israel’s recognition of Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland as an independent nation, a day earlier.

Somaliland, a territory of more than 3 million people in the Horn of Africa, declared independence from Somalia in 1991, amid conflict. Although it has its own government and currency, it had never been recognized by any nation in the world until Friday.

African Union Chairman Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said any attempt to undermine Somalia’s sovereignty endangers the peace and stability of the continent.

He said the commission “strongly rejects any initiative or action aimed at recognizing Somaliland as an independent entity, recalling that Somaliland remains an integral part of the Federal Republic of Somalia.”

Somalia’s federal government on Friday strongly rejected what it called Israel’s illegal move to recognize Somaliland, reaffirming that the northern region remains an integral part of Somalia’s sovereign territory.

It was unclear why Israel made the statement at that time or whether it expected anything in return.

Earlier this year, U.S. and Israeli officials told The Associated Press that Israel had contacted Somaliland about welcoming Palestinians from Gaza as part of then-U.S. President Trump’s plan to resettle the territory’s population. The United States has since abandoned this project.

Netanyahu’s office said Friday that he, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi signed a joint statement “in the spirit of the Abraham Accords.”

This initiative, launched in 2020, established commercial and diplomatic relations between Israel and several predominantly Arab and Muslim countries. Mr. Trump sees it as a key part of his plan to bring long-term stability to the Middle East.

“I will communicate to President Trump your willingness and desire to rejoin the Abraham Accords,” Netanyahu told Abdullahi in a video call celebrating the diplomatic breakthrough.

However, Mr Trump was less willing to join his ally Israel in recognizing Somaliland’s independence, telling the New York Post that he must “study” it.

“We’re going to study it. I study a lot of things and I always make good decisions and they turn out to be correct,” he said.

The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs – a major mediator in the Israel-Hamas War — declared on social media that he rejected Israel’s recognition of Somaliland and stressed his full support for Somalia’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity.

IGAD, East Africa’s governing body, said in a statement on Saturday that Somalia’s sovereignty was recognized under international law.

“Any unilateral recognition is contrary to the Charter of the United Nations, the Constitutive Act of the African Union and the Agreement Establishing IGAD,” the statement read in part.