Africa’s regional governance 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 a descent into conflict. Despite having its own government and currency, it had never been recognized by any nation in the world until Friday.
The African Union Chairperson, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, said any attempt to undermine Somalia’s sovereignty risks peace and stability on the continent.
He said that the commission “firmly 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 described as an unlawful move by Israel to recognize Somaliland, reaffirming that the northern region remains an integral part of Somalia’s sovereign territory.
It was not known why Israel made the declaration at this time or whether it was expecting something in return.
Earlier this year, U.S. and Israeli officials told The Associated Press that Israel had approached Somaliland about taking in Palestinians from Gaza as part of U.S. President Trump’s plan at the time to resettle the territory’s population. The United States has since abandoned that plan.
Netanyahu’s office said on Friday that he, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, and Somaliland’s president, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, signed a joint declaration “in the spirit of the Abraham Accords.”
That initiative, which started in 2020, established commercial and diplomatic ties between Israel and several Arab and Muslim-majority countries. Mr. Trump sees it as key to his plan for bringing long-term stability to the Middle East.
“I’ll communicate to President Trump your willingness and desire to join the Abraham Accords,” Netanyahu told Abdullahi in a video call celebrating the diplomatic breakthrough.
However, Mr. Trump was less willing to join ally Israel in recognizing the independence of Somaliland, telling the New York Post that he has to “study” it.
“We’ll study it. I study a lot of things and always make great decisions and they turn out to be correct,” he said.
The foreign ministry of Egypt — a major mediator in the Israel-Hamas war — said on social media that it rejects Israel’s recognition of Somaliland and stressed full support for Somalia’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity.
East African governing body IGAD, in a statement on Saturday, said Somalia’s sovereignty was recognized under international law.
“Any unilateral recognition runs 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.