Overview
- Israel became the first country to formally recognise Somaliland on December 26, triggering large protests across Somalia and a wave of diplomatic criticism.
- At an emergency UN Security Council meeting, most members condemned the recognition while the United States defended Israel’s right to conduct diplomatic relations and said its own policy on Somaliland is unchanged.
- Meeting in Istanbul, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud denounced the decision, with Turkey announcing offshore oil drilling and a planned spaceport in Somalia starting in 2026.
- Mohamud said Somali intelligence indicates Somaliland accepted Israeli conditions involving Palestinian resettlement, an Israeli base on the Gulf of Aden, and participation in the Abraham Accords, claims that have not been independently verified.
- Regional bodies and governments including the African Union, Arab League, OIC, EU and more than 20 states warned the step risks destabilising the Horn of Africa and undermining Somalia’s territorial integrity.