{"id":196721,"date":"2026-01-13T04:25:50","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T04:25:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/israels-recognition-of-somaliland-slammed-across-world-capitals-al-jazeera\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T04:25:50","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T04:25:50","slug":"israels-recognition-of-somaliland-slammed-across-world-capitals-al-jazeera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/israels-recognition-of-somaliland-slammed-across-world-capitals-al-jazeera\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel\u2019s recognition of Somaliland slammed across world capitals – Al Jazeera"},"content":{"rendered":"

Regional blocs join nations in condemning Israel\u2019s move to formally recognise breakaway Somali region as independent.<\/em>
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The Arab League, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the African Union (AU), and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) have joined numerous countries and foreign ministers in decrying Israel\u2019s formal recognition of the Somali breakaway region of Somaliland as an independent state.
Somaliland, a region in the Horn of Africa, declared independence from Somalia in 1991 and has pushed for international recognition for decades, with President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi making it a top priority since taking office last year.
Israel announced<\/a> on Friday that it viewed Somaliland as an \u201cindependent and sovereign state\u201d, becoming the first country to make such a declaration.
The announcement prompted Somalia<\/a> to call the decision a \u201cdeliberate attack\u201d on its sovereignty that would undermine regional peace.
In a statement on Friday, the AU continental bloc rejected Israel\u2019s move and warned that it risked \u201csetting a dangerous precedent with far-reaching implications for peace and stability across the continent\u201d.
The AU Commission chair, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, said the institution \u201cfirmly rejects any initiative or action aimed at recognising Somaliland as an independent entity, recalling that Somaliland remains an integral part of the Federal Republic of Somalia\u201d.
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit called Israel\u2019s action \u201ca clear violation of international law and a flagrant infringement of the principle of the unity and sovereignty of states\u201d.
\u201cAny attempt to impose unilateral recognitions constitutes an unacceptable interference in Somalia\u2019s internal affairs and sets a dangerous precedent that threatens regional and international security and stability,\u201d he warned.
The GCC called the development \u201ca grave violation of the principles of international law and a blatant infringement\u201d of Somalia\u2019s sovereignty.
\u201cThis recognition represents a dangerous precedent that will undermine the foundations of stability in the Horn of Africa region and open the door to further tensions and conflicts, contradicting regional and international efforts aimed at strengthening international peace and security in the region,\u201d GCC Secretary-General Jasem Albudaiwi said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The European Union said it respected Somalia\u2019s territorial integrity and sovereignty, calling for dialogue between the Somali national government and Somaliland.
The OIC issued a joint statement together with the foreign ministers of several countries including Algeria, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Gambia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Maldives, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Turkiye, and Yemen.
The group issued its \u201cunequivocal rejection of Israel\u2019s recognition of the \u2018Somaliland\u2019 region \u2026 given the serious repercussions of such unprecedented measure on peace and security in the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea, and its serious effects on international peace and security as a whole\u201d.
They criticised \u201cIsrael\u2019s full and blatant disregard to international law\u201d and expressed full support for the sovereignty of Somalia.
The group also rejected \u201cany potential link between such measure [Somaliland recognition] and any attempts to forcibly expel the Palestinian people out of their land\u201d.
Earlier this year, reports emerged linking potential recognition of Somaliland to plans for ethnically cleansing Palestinians in Gaza<\/a> and forcibly moving them to the African region.
Qatar, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, China and Nigeria were among the other countries that condemned Israel\u2019s move in separate statements.
The Palestinian Authority and Hamas also rejected Israel\u2019s recognition of Somaliland.
On Friday, Somalia demanded<\/a> Israel reverse its recognition of Somaliland as independent, condemning the move as an act of \u201caggression that will never be tolerated\u201d.
However, Somaliland leader Abdullahi hailed Israel\u2019s decision as a \u201chistoric moment\u201d and said in a post on X that it marked the beginning of a \u201cstrategic partnership\u201d.
As world leaders weighed in, Somalia\u2019s al-Qaeda-linked armed group al-Shabab pledged on Saturday to fight any attempt by Israel \u201cto claim or use parts of Somaliland\u201d.
\u201cWe will not accept it, and we will fight against it,\u201d the group that has waged a decades-long armed rebellion in the region said in a statement.
United States President Donald Trump also commented on the issue.
Asked by the New York Post newspaper whether Washington planned to also recognise Somaliland, Trump said \u201cno\u201d.
\u201cDoes anyone know what Somaliland is, really?\u201d he added on Friday.<\/p>\n

Follow Al Jazeera English:<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Regional blocs join nations in condemning Israel\u2019s move to formally recognise breakaway Somali region as independent.ShareSaveThe Arab League, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the African Union (AU), and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) have joined numerous countries and foreign ministers in decrying Israel\u2019s formal recognition of the Somali breakaway region of Somaliland as an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":196722,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-196721","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=196721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196721\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}