Nairobi, 27 Dec

Africa’s regional governance bodies on Saturday rejected Israel’s recognition of Somaliland as an independent nation, a move announced a day earlier and marking the first such recognition by any country in more than three decades.

Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 after the country plunged into civil war. While the region has maintained relative stability, established its own government, and issued its own currency, it had not been formally recognised by any nation until Israel’s declaration on Friday.

Responding to the development, African Union Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf warned that the move could threaten regional stability. He said any attempt to undermine Somalia’s sovereignty risks peace and security across the continent. The AU Commission, he added, “firmly 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.”

Somalia’s federal government also strongly objected to Israel’s decision, calling it unlawful and reiterating that the northern region remains part of Somalia’s sovereign territory. Officials in Mogadishu said the recognition violated international norms and ignored Africa-led efforts to preserve territorial integrity.

It remained unclear why Israel chose this moment to recognise Somaliland or whether it expected reciprocal commitments. Earlier this year, US and Israeli officials told The Associated Press that Israel had approached Somaliland over the possibility of resettling Palestinians from Gaza as part of a plan proposed at the time by US President Donald Trump. That proposal has since been abandoned by Washington.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Friday that Netanyahu, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, and Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi had signed a joint declaration “in the spirit of the Abraham Accords.” The initiative, launched in 2020, aimed to normalise relations between Israel and several Arab and Muslim-majority countries and is viewed by Trump as central to his broader Middle East strategy.

Egypt, a key mediator in the Israel-Hamas conflict, also rejected the recognition. Its foreign ministry said on social media that Cairo fully supports Somalia’s sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity.

Meanwhile, the East African regional bloc IGAD said Somalia’s sovereignty is recognised under international law. “Any unilateral recognition runs contrary to the Charter of the United Nations, the Constitutive Act of the African Union, and the Agreement establishing IGAD,” the organisation said in a statement.