The African Union (AU) is slamming Israel’s decision to recognize Somaliland, the breakaway region of Somalia, calling it an attempt to “undermine the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity” of the troubled country in the Horn of Africa.
African Union Chairman Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, the foreign minister of Djibouti, has “taken note with deep concern” of the recent developments related to Somaliland and “unequivocally reaffirms the longstanding and consistent position of the African Union … in particular the respect for the intangibility of borders inherited at independence,” the organization said last week in a statement.
The African Union was established in 2002 as the successor to the Organization of African Unity, aiming to promote unity, solidarity, and integration among African nations for economic development and political stability. It comprises 55 member states.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the mutual recognition declaration “was in the spirit of the Abraham Accords, signed at the initiative of President Trump.” Israel is the only country that has established diplomatic relations with Somaliland.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu congratulated the President of Somaliland, Dr. Abdirahman Mohamed Abdallas, and praised his leadership and commitment to promoting stability and peace,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement.
Somalia’s government called the move by Israel an attack on its sovereignty. It said any proposals to partition the country threaten to destabilize not only Mogadishu but the wider African continent.
Somaliland controls the northwestern portion of what was once the British Protectorate in Somalia. It declared independence from Mogadishu in 1991 but has struggled to gain recognition from any other United Nations member state.
