The UN Security Council meets for an emergency meeting over Israel’s controversial recognition of the East African Republic of Somaliland as an independent state.
December 28, 2025, 05:08December 28, 2025, 05:08
Ahead of the meeting scheduled for Monday in New York, 21 predominantly Muslim countries warned in a joint statement of “serious consequences” of Israel’s unprecedented actions for “peace and security in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea” as well as for international security.
Women hold up the flag of Somaliland.Image: keystone
On Friday, Israel became the first country in the world to recognize the breakaway region of Somaliland as a sovereign state. Somaliland, a Muslim region in northern Somalia with just a few million inhabitants, has been virtually independent for more than three decades. Israel’s actions came a few days before Somalia takes over the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council. The Somali government spoke of a “deliberate” and “unlawful” attack by Israel on the country’s sovereignty.
Israel’s recognition of the breakaway region of Somaliland as a state represents a “serious violation of the principles of international law,” according to the statement published by Qatar by the 21 predominantly Muslim countries and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. It also rejects any “potential connection” between Israel’s move and attempts to expel Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, which has been devastated by Israel’s war against the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas.
Somaliland Foreign Minister Abdirahman Dahir Adam told Israel’s Channel 12 television on Saturday that Israel’s recognition of Somaliland as a sovereign state had nothing to do with the Gaza conflict. According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, the move was made “in the spirit of the Abraham Accords.” US President Donald Trump initiated these agreements in 2020 during his first term in office.
As a result, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan normalized their relations with Israel. The Times of Israel highlighted that the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco were not among the signatories of the joint declaration by the 21 predominantly Muslim countries on Israel’s recognition of Somaliland as a state.
Meanwhile, Syria also condemned the actions of neighboring Israel as a “clear violation of international law and the UN Charter”. The recognition of Somaliland as an independent state violates “the sovereignty, national unity and territorial integrity” of Somalia, according to a statement from the Syrian Foreign Ministry published by the state agency Sana. Such unilateral action sets a “dangerous precedent” that threatens regional security and stability, it is said. (sda/dpa)