In January 2026, Tel Aviv took the bold step of recognising Somaliland as a sovereign state. This drew a sharp rebuke from the African Union and from many countries beyond Africa. Somalia protested that Somaliland is an integral part of its sovereign territory. The government in Mogadishu said it is the rightful government of the whole of Somalia, and that includes Somaliland, which is the northern part of the country.
In the UN, the Israeli delegation adumbrated its reasoning. In 1960, the United Kingdom granted independence to Somaliland, and the State of Israel recognised it. Days later, Somaliland chose to be absorbed into Somalia, which had been an Italian colony.
The Somalis have been a distinct nation for centuries, with their own language. They are divided into clans and have often fought each other. They are almost without exception Sunni Muslims. The Somali homeland is modern-day Somalia, but also includes much of what is now the Ogaden region of Ethiopia, Djibouti, and north-eastern Kenya. The pentagonal star on the Somali flag represents the five sections of the Somali people.
The ulterior reason for the Jewish State conferring recognition on Somaliland is less idealistic. As a matter of fact, the chief reason is that it will give Israel access to Bab al-Mandab (the Gate of Tears), the strait between the Horn of Africa and Yemen. This strait has only about 20 km of navigable sea at its narrowest point. Pro-Iranian Houthi rebels in Yemen have been attacking Israeli-linked shipping there. A significant proportion of global maritime trade passes through this choke point, which provides access to and egress from the Suez Canal.
An Israeli embassy in Hargeisa would mean a Mossad station. It would function as a listening post to monitor hostile activities in north-east Africa and even the Arabian Peninsula. It is possible that Israel may even lease a section of the coast to allow it to establish a military base for its navy, air force, and army. This would make it much easier to strike foes in the region.
Israel is not recognised by most Muslim countries, and only a handful of Arab ones. Arabic is a co-official language of Somalia, and the Somali language was not written in a standardised form until the 1970s. Every state that recognises Israel brings legitimacy. That was why Israel lobbied so hard to forfend more countries from recognising Palestine. Tel Aviv has suffered many diplomatic reverses since 2023, with more countries recognising Palestine, including Canada, Australia, France, Spain, Norway, Slovenia, Ireland, and the UK.
Many Muslim and African countries will look on Somaliland as a traitor. It has sold out its fellow Muslim nation, Palestine, in return for financial gain. The Somaliland government was seen by many as illegitimate anyway. Now it is denounced as a hireling of Zionism and neo-colonialism.
Somaliland is a very underdeveloped country and seems to be bereft of natural resources. Its geographic location is one of its few advantages. Israel is a very affluent country and has promised hundreds of millions of US dollars in aid each year to Somaliland. This will go a long way.
In recent years, the copper, tin, gypsum, and marble of Somaliland have begun to attract attention. However, it takes a huge investment to exploit these minerals. Oil and gas have also been discovered, but production has not begun. Companies are unwilling to make the major investment necessary to access these hydrocarbons while the political situation remains so uncertain.
Somaliland has suffered many problems associated with being an unrecognised country. It established its own currency, the Somaliland shilling, but it is not exchangeable abroad. International trade has been difficult because it is not fully integrated into the global financial transaction network, including SWIFT. Despite this, flights have operated to and from Hargeisa and Berbera, and the territory has been connected to international telecommunications networks.
In Somaliland, women’s rights have advanced remarkably over the past generation. There are several women in parliament. In southern Somalia — that is, the part of the country controlled by the Mogadishu government — the situation for women is among the worst in the world.
The English language is more widely understood in Somaliland than in the south of the country. Somalis in the diaspora often originate from Somaliland rather than the south. This use of English is clearly a boost to trade opportunities.
In the 2000s, Somaliland began to achieve a degree of unofficial recognition. Countries such as the UAE started to allow flights to and from Hargeisa and Berbera. Indian telecommunications engineers connected the territory to the international telephone network and the internet.
No international sporting organisation allows Somaliland to take part, nor can it participate in most cultural fora.
In the 1980s, the people of Somaliland suffered mass atrocities at the hands of the left-wing dictator, Mohamed Siad Barre. He was ousted in 1991, and the country descended into civil war. President George H. W. Bush launched Operation Restore Hope in January 1993. Other countries sent troops to try to protect humanitarian aid, including Italy, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, and the UAE.
In 1991, Somaliland unofficially seceded. Whereas the southern part of Somalia became close to a failed state, Somaliland managed to establish a stable government and even a form of democracy.
Al-Qaeda gained a foothold in southern Somalia, and al-Shabab emerged as one of its affiliates. It launched attacks into neighbouring Kenya, a Christian-majority country, which also has a substantial ethnically Somali population.
Somali pirates sometimes took over ships in the Indian Ocean. They brought sailors to Somalia and held them to ransom. This was largely motivated by profit rather than ideology.
In the 1950s, decolonisation commenced in Africa. The borders of African countries were drawn at the Congress of Berlin in 1884–85, at which not a single African was present. These borders were drawn with little regard for ethnographic realities.
When African nations became independent, they established the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), now called the African Union (AU). The OAU issued the Cairo Declaration in 1964, stating that, however unsatisfactory colonial-era borders were, they must be adhered to. Redrawing borders, it warned, would lead to endless conflict and renewed external domination.
This principle was considered sacrosanct. A rebellion by Eritrea brought about independence from Ethiopia in 1991. Eritrea argued that it had been an Italian colony from the 1880s to 1941 and was therefore distinct from Ethiopia.
A prolonged insurrection in South Sudan led to its secession in 2011. This was recognised by Sudan and the rest of the AU. South Sudan is now one of the poorest nations on earth. Israel has reportedly considered relocating Palestinians from Gaza there, and South Sudan has indicated openness to this in return for sufficient financial inducements.
Morocco is the only African country that has withdrawn from the AU. This is because when Spain withdrew from Spanish Sahara in 1975, the territory was declared the independent Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Morocco immediately invaded and annexed much of it. The AU considers this an illegal occupation. The Sahrawi people, many of whom live in refugee camps in Algeria, continue to seek independence.