Mogadishu (Somalia Today) – Somalia and 16 partner countries have issued a joint condemnation of Israel’s decision to appoint a diplomatic representative to the breakaway region of Somaliland, calling the move a “flagrant violation” of Somalia’s sovereignty and warning that it could threaten stability across the Horn of Africa.
In a statement released by Somalia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on April 18, the foreign ministers of Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Sudan, Libya, Bangladesh, Algeria, Palestine, Türkiye, Indonesia, Pakistan, Kuwait, Mauritania, Jordan, Oman and Yemen said they expressed their “strongest condemnation” of Israel’s announcement.
They said the appointment to the “so-called ‘Somaliland’” violated the “sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity” of the Federal Republic of Somalia and rejected any unilateral step that undermines the unity of states or infringes on their sovereignty.
“The Ministers reaffirm their unequivocal rejection of all unilateral measures that undermine the unity of states or infringe upon their sovereignty,” the statement said.
They also underscored their “firm and unwavering support” for Somalia’s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as for its “legitimate state institutions”, which they described as “the sole representative of the will of the Somali people”.
The joint declaration marks one of the broadest coordinated responses yet to Israel’s deepening ties with Somaliland, a self-declared republic that broke away from Somalia in 1991 but has not secured broad international recognition.
‘Dangerous precedent’
The ministers framed their objection not only as a matter of Somali sovereignty but also as a wider legal and regional security issue.
They said Israel’s move amounted to “a blatant violation of the principles of international law, the United Nations’ Charter, and the Constitutive Act of the African Union”, and warned that it “sets a dangerous precedent that risks undermining stability in the Horn of Africa”.
The statement added that such actions could reflect negatively on regional peace and security as a whole.
That language closely aligns with Somalia’s long-running position that Somaliland remains part of its internationally recognised territory and that no foreign government has the legal right to treat the region as a separate sovereign state.
For Mogadishu, the significance of the statement lies not only in its wording but in the breadth of the countries behind it. It brings together key Arab and Muslim-majority states from the Middle East, North Africa and Asia at a time when Somalia is trying to widen opposition to Israel’s move beyond African institutions alone.
The African Union had already pushed back earlier this year after Israel became the first United Nations member state to formally recognise Somaliland in late December, arguing that the decision violated Somalia’s territorial integrity and the AU’s long-standing principles on inherited borders.
The latest ministerial statement now adds coordinated backing from countries that carry political weight in the Arab and Islamic worlds, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and Türkiye.
Deepening ties
The diplomatic row has intensified steadily since Israel recognised Somaliland in December, setting off alarm bells in Mogadishu and across parts of the region.
Israel deepened that shift this week by appointing veteran diplomat Michael Lotem as its diplomatic representative to Somaliland, moving beyond symbolic recognition towards formal representation.
The appointment followed a series of rapid developments in ties between Israel and Hargeisa.
On January 6, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar travelled to Hargeisa, where he met Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi and pledged to expand relations.
“We are determined to vigorously advance relations between Israel and Somaliland,” Saar said during the visit, adding that “the mutual recognition and establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries are not directed against anyone.”
For Somaliland’s leadership, Israel’s recognition marked a diplomatic breakthrough after more than three decades of efforts to gain formal international acceptance.
President Abdullahi has openly embraced the new relationship, describing Israel as a “reliable and responsible partner” and presenting the ties as a chance to open new economic and strategic opportunities for the territory.
He said earlier this year that Somaliland expected stronger trade and investment links with Israel and pointed to the region’s minerals, oil, gas, agriculture and marine resources as areas for future cooperation.
“The sky is the limit,” Abdullahi said when asked about prospects for bilateral trade.
Those developments have sharpened Somalia’s concern that Israel is trying to normalise Somaliland’s status step by step, starting with recognition and moving into diplomatic and economic engagement.
Horn of Africa tensions
The dispute carries weight far beyond bilateral politics.
Somaliland sits along the Gulf of Aden, near one of the world’s most important maritime corridors linking the Red Sea to the wider Indian Ocean. That waterway has come under growing pressure in recent months as attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels disrupted shipping and raised wider fears over international trade and regional security.
Against that backdrop, Somalia and its partners have argued that any move likely to fuel new political fault lines in the Horn of Africa carries risks beyond the immediate dispute over Somaliland’s status.
The joint statement reflects that concern directly, warning that Israel’s decision could undermine stability in the Horn and harm peace and security more broadly.
Türkiye, one of Somalia’s closest security partners, has been among the most outspoken critics of Israel’s Somaliland policy. Ankara maintains a strong military and political presence in Mogadishu and has repeatedly backed Somalia’s territorial integrity.
Somalia has also stepped up diplomatic contacts with regional and international partners in recent months in an effort to reinforce support for its position and prevent Israel’s move from becoming a precedent other countries might one day follow.
Despite Somaliland’s long-standing de facto autonomy, Mogadishu insists the issue remains one of secession from a recognised UN member state, not an unresolved sovereignty dispute.
And the latest joint statement leaves little ambiguity about where Somalia’s partners stand.
