NAIROBI, Kenya — Continental governance institutions have issued forceful condemnations of Israel’s unprecedented recognition of Somaliland as an independent state, marking the first such international acknowledgment since the region declared autonomy from Somalia in 1991. The African Union Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf declared Saturday that any recognition of Somaliland’s sovereignty constitutes a direct threat to continental peace and stability, reaffirming that the territory remains constitutionally part of Somalia.
The diplomatic controversy emerged Friday when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced a joint declaration with Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, framed within the context of the Abraham Accords normalization initiative. This move triggered immediate backlash from multiple African regional bodies and neighboring nations.
Somalia’s federal government categorically rejected what it termed an ‘unlawful violation’ of its territorial integrity. The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), East Africa’s primary political bloc, issued a statement emphasizing that unilateral recognition contravenes multiple international statutes including the UN Charter and African Union Constitutive Act.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry, currently mediating Israel-Hamas negotiations, joined the condemnation through social media channels, expressing full solidarity with Somalia’s sovereignty. The recognition timing remains diplomatically puzzling, though previous reports indicated Israeli officials had explored with Somaliland the potential resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza—a proposal since abandoned by the U.S. administration.