Somaliland, the African country that declared its independence 34 years ago and that has just been recognized by another state

Gideon Saar, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israelindicated that he had spoken with Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, president of Somaliland, and affirmed that both states will seek to work together to promote “regional stability and economic prosperity.”

“During the last year, thanks to a broad and continuous dialogue, the relations between Israel and Somaliland have taken shape. Following the decision of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the President of Somaliland, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, we signed today an agreement on mutual recognition and the establishment of full diplomatic relations, which will include the appointment of ambassadors and the opening of embassies,” Saar wrote on the social network X.

On the other hand, the Somali government showed its rejection of the Israeli government’s decision by affirming its “absolute and non-negotiable” commitment to its sovereignty.

“The Federal Government of Somalia categorically and unequivocally rejects the deliberate attack on its sovereignty and the illegal measure by Israel in seeking to recognize the northern region of Somalia. The Somaliland Region is an integral, inseparable and inalienable part of the sovereign territory of the Federal Republic of Somalia,” said the Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The African Union also showed its opposition to the recognition of Somaliland by the Jewish state.

The League of Arab States also expressed its negative opinion regarding the recognition of Somaliland stating that its position is based “on the principles enshrined” in its founding act, “in particular respect for the intangibility of the borders inherited at the time of independence.”

“The president of the African Union Commission rejects any recognition of Somaliland and reaffirms the unwavering commitment of the African Union to the unity and sovereignty of Somalia,” the entity said in a statement.

The League of Arab States joined the protests, indicating that the recognition of the territory as a state by the Hebrew country was “a provocative and unacceptable movement that undermines regional stability. The government of Turkey maintained the same line, pointing out that the measure constituted “one more example of the illegal actions of the Netanyahu government.”

UNIT WITH COMPLEX BASES

The origin of Somaliland secessionism dates back to the colonial past of that region of the Horn of Africa. The Somali state has its origins in the union of Italian Somalia and the protectorate of British Somalia after both gained independence in 1960.

Both territories shared language, culture and almost the entire Islamic faith, but the imprint left by the European countries that controlled those regions decisively marked the conception that their inhabitants had regarding the roles of the State.

Somali culture places great importance on the role of the different tribes that occupy its territory, which have complex subdivisions and interactions that largely conditioned the relationships of the region’s inhabitants even before the colonial past.

The territory that was controlled by Italy, which was larger and extended towards the south, saw much more direct state intervention that left a much more defined structure, from administration to productive activities and the creation of infrastructure.

On the other hand, the region under the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom, located to the north, had a considerably more delegative administration and less influence on the traditional organization of the population. The tribal structure continued to play a key role in legislation and decision-making.

CONVULUS COMMON HISTORY

Beyond the above, the pansomalism that was experienced in the period of independence led the population of the former colonies to view favorably the unification of their territories almost immediately.

However, the differences became evident shortly after the emergence of the recent state because power was concentrated in the south, inheriting part of the forms that the Italians had introduced. The population of the north felt marginalized and some even perceived that they were in a new colonial regime under the will of their new compatriots.

Under this consideration, the north categorically rejected the establishment of the country’s Constitution, considering it favorable to the interests of the southerners, but the document ended up being approved in a referendum because the southern region was considerably more populated.

The tension reached its climax and most violent point during the dictatorial government of Siad Barre, who came to power through a coup d’état and was progressively more repressive towards the northern part of the country and was extremely hostile towards the tribalism of the north, with the Isaaq clan.

In this context, the Somali National Movement (SNM) appeared in the north in response and Barre decided to react relentlessly and atrociously. Under his orders, the Isaaq were systematically persecuted between 1987 and 1989, becoming victims of a true genocide. Civilian deaths in this period are estimated between 50,000 and 100,000.

The dictator’s actions ended with the destruction of Hargeisa and Burao, the two largest cities in the country after the capital Mogadishu, generating nearly half a million displaced people, most of whom fled to neighboring Ethiopia.

However, the fall of the Barre regime after losing the Ogaden War against Ethiopia generated an atmosphere of civil war and general disorder. This scenario was used by northern tribal leaders to announce the annulment of the union, with which the Republic of Somaliland proclaimed its independence on May 18, 1991.

The new country delimited its borders using as a reference those that the territory had during its time as a British protectorate and indicates that it is only referring to reestablishing the previous demarcation, so they are not constituting a new state, but rather resuming its original structure.

A crucial factor in Somaliland’s stance is that they originally proclaimed independence from the United Kingdom on June 26, 1960, five days before the Italian-controlled region. In that time frame, more than thirty countries had recognized its sovereignty.

Since 2023, the regions of Sanaag, Cayn and Sool began a revolt that led to the loss of Somaliland’s de facto control in those areas. Its leaders indicated that they preferred the Somali administration of Mogadishu, so since April 2025 they became an autonomous federated territory known as the Northeast State.

The country recently recognized by Israel It has a population of approximately 3.5 million inhabitants, issues passports, has its own currency and even has its own armed forces. Since then it has experienced a period of relative stability and has even been able to hold democratic elections.

For its part, Somalia It continues to include Somalilanders among its 19 million inhabitants. The country that continues to defend its sovereignty over the northern territory faces severe internal conflicts such as the ignorance of the Puntland region towards the central government. Its leaders argued that their original requests for autonomy were not being met, so they would adopt the “functions of an independent state.”

Added to the above is an intermittent conflict with the Jubaland region and with various military leaders, as well as against Al-Shabaab, a group affiliated with Al-Qaeda and to a lesser extent with the Islamic State.