Shazia 27 December 2025World News
African
African regional bodies reject recognition of Somaliland by Israel.Nairobi – Africa’s regional governance bodies today rejected Israel’s recognition of Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland as an independent state, a move announced a day earlier and the first such recognition by any country in more than three decades.
Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 as the country descended into civil war. Despite maintaining its own government, currency and relative stability, it had not been recognised by any nation until Israel’s announcement on Friday.
African Union Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf warned that any attempt to undermine Somalia’s sovereignty could threaten peace and stability across the continent. In a statement, he said the AU Commission “firmly rejects any initiative or action aimed at recognizing Somaliland as an independent entity,” stressing that the region remains an integral part of the Federal Republic of Somalia.
Somalia’s federal government also condemned Israel’s move, calling it unlawful and reaffirming that Somaliland remains part of Somalia’s sovereign territory.
Israel has not explained the timing of the recognition or whether it expects concessions in return. Earlier this year, U.S. and Israeli officials told The Associated Press that Israel had discussed with Somaliland the possibility of relocating Palestinians from Gaza as part of a now-abandoned plan backed at the time by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Friday that Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi signed a joint declaration “in the spirit of the Abraham Accords,” the 2020 initiative that normalized Israel’s relations with several Arab and Muslim-majority countries.
Egypt’s foreign ministry, a key mediator in the Israel-Hamas war, said it rejected Israel’s recognition of Somaliland and reiterated its support for Somalia’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity.
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an East African regional bloc, said in a statement that Somalia’s sovereignty is protected under international law, adding that “any unilateral recognition runs contrary to the Charter of the United Nations, the Constitutive Act of the African Union, and the agreement establishing IGAD.”