Hargeisa (Somalia Today) – Somaliland has denied reports that it agreed to let Israel establish a military base in the strategic port city of Berbera, rejecting claims that have stirred fresh regional tension and drawn renewed warnings from Somalia’s federal government.
The denial came days after Bloomberg reported that Israel was exploring a possible security foothold in Somaliland, saying a base there could support operations against Yemen’s Houthis and strengthen monitoring of the Red Sea.
Somaliland says no agreement on a military base exists.
That position is broadly consistent with earlier public comments by President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, who told Reuters in February that while Somaliland hoped to build stronger ties with Israel and expected a trade deal, Israeli military bases had not been discussed.
He said future military cooperation could be possible, but drew a distinction between long-term security ties and any immediate basing arrangement.
Israel became the first country to formally recognise Somaliland in late December 2025, according to Reuters, a move that ended decades of diplomatic isolation for the breakaway territory and immediately triggered condemnation from Mogadishu.
Ten days later, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar visited Hargeisa and held talks with Somaliland’s president.
Saar said both sides were determined to deepen relations, prompting Somalia’s foreign ministry to denounce the visit as a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Mogadishu has since treated any suggestion of an Israeli military presence in Somaliland as a direct challenge.
Strategic stakes
Somalia has warned that its territory cannot be used as a launching pad for foreign military operations.
“Somalia does not want to see its territory pulled into external confrontations or used in ways that could further destabilise an already sensitive region,” Ali Omar, Somalia’s state minister for foreign affairs, told Al Jazeera on Thursday.
“The Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden are critical corridors for global trade and regional security, and instability there affects the entire Horn of Africa,” Omar said.
“When regional tensions rise, civilian populations are always the most vulnerable,” he added.
Omar said, “steps that could expose Somali communities to unnecessary risks or draw them into wider geopolitical conflicts are not in the interest of our people”.
In an interview broadcast by Al Jazeera in February, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud also said Somalia would “never allow” an Israeli base in Somaliland, framing the issue as both a sovereignty dispute and a broader threat to security in the Horn of Africa.
Strategic geography
Bloomberg’s March 11 report intensified the debate by saying Israel was quietly planning for a potential operational base at the mouth of the Red Sea as the wider confrontation with Iran and its regional allies deepened.
The report said Somaliland had become more attractive not only because of political openness in Hargeisa after recognition, but also because Berbera would place Israel close to the Gulf of Aden and the maritime corridor where Houthi attacks have disrupted shipping.
Somaliland has sought to draw a line between such outside reporting and its own official position, insisting no agreement has been reached.
Berbera is central to the story because of geography as much as politics.
Somaliland occupies a strategic position at the junction of the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, while Berbera offers access to some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
Those routes have faced repeated attacks from Yemen’s Houthi movement, and concern over Red Sea security has become one factor behind Israel’s engagement with Somaliland.
Somaliland has also denied that recognition by Israel automatically opened the door to military bases.
Regional fallout
The city is already embedded in wider regional competition.
The United Arab Emirates, through DP World, runs Berbera port, as well as the airport and a free-trade zone between the two.
That means Berbera is not only a commercial gateway, but also a strategic asset watched closely by Gulf states, Israel, Ethiopia, and Somalia alike.
Any move to add a formal Israeli security presence would therefore reverberate far beyond Somaliland’s internal diplomacy.
The diplomatic fallout has not been limited to Somalia.
The African Union condemned Israel’s recognition of Somaliland and called for it to be revoked, underlining how isolated Hargeisa still remains in the formal international system despite Israel’s move.
At the same time, Somaliland has argued that recognition should unlock economic partnerships, investment, and broader international engagement.
That gap between Hargeisa’s search for legitimacy and Mogadishu’s defence of territorial unity is what gives the Berbera base controversy its wider significance.
For now, the clearest verified picture is this: Bloomberg reported Israeli interest in a possible security foothold, Somalia has issued repeated warnings against any such move, and Somaliland says no military base deal exists.
But even without a signed agreement, the argument over Berbera has already shown how quickly the Horn of Africa can become entangled in the conflicts of the Red Sea and Middle East.
