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Somalia’s Al-Qaeda-linked militant group Al-Shabaab vowed Saturday to fight any attempt by Israel “to claim or use parts of Somaliland” following its recognition of the breakaway territory.
“We will not accept it, and we will fight against it,” Al-Shabaab said in a statement.
Its spokesman, Ali Dheere, said in the statement that Israel’s recognition of Somaliland as a sovereign state showed it “has decided to expand into parts of the Somali territories” to support “the apostate administration in the northwest regions”.
Israel said Friday it was officially recognising Somaliland, a first for the self-proclaimed republic that in 1991 declared it had unilaterally seceded from Somalia.
Mogadishu immediately denounced a “deliberate attack” on its sovereignty, while Egypt, Turkey, the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council and the Saudi-based Organisation of Islamic Cooperation all condemned Israel’s move.
Regional analysts believe that a rapprochement with Somaliland could allow Israel to secure better access to the Red Sea. In addition, press reports a few months ago said Somaliland was among a handful of African territories willing to host Palestinians expelled by Israel, but neither the Somaliland authorities nor the Israeli government has ever commented on those reports.
The territory of Somaliland is roughly a third the size of France and corresponds roughly to the former British Somaliland protectorate. It has its own currency, army, and police, and enjoys relative stability compared to its neighbours.
But, until now, Somaliland had not been publicly recognised by any country, which has kept it politically and economically isolated despite its location on one of the world’s busiest trade routes connecting the Indian Ocean to the Suez Canal.
