Israel and Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland signed a mutual recognition deal in December [Getty]
Israel appointed its first ambassador to Somaliland on Wednesday, months after controversially recognising the breakaway region of Somalia as an independent state.
Michael Lotem, Israel’s former ambassador to Kenya, will take up the post as a non-resident envoy, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Somaliland and Israel signed a mutual recognition deal in November, drawing condemnation from several Arab and Muslim-majority states, the UN Security Council, the African Union, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, which emphasised the territorial integrity of Somalia.
Israel is the only state to recognise Somaliland, a region in northwestern Somalia which unilaterally declared independence in 1991. The region has de facto self-rule, its own government and security forces.
Somalia’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday issued a statement condemning Israel’s appointment of an ambassador to Somaliland, calling it a “direct breach of Somalia’s sovereignty”.
“The Federal Government of Somalia categorically rejects any attempt to confer diplomatic or political recognition on any part of its territory outside the authority of the Federal Government,” the statement read.
“Somaliland remains an integral part of the Federal Republic of Somalia.”
Somaliland’s foreign ministry issued a rebuttal on Thursday, in which it referred to the internationally recognised administration in Mogadishu as the “Somalian Government” – an apparent rejection of the demonym “Somali” as belonging to Somalia.
“The continued invocation by the Somalian Government of ‘territorial integrity’ in this context is both misplaced and misleading. Somaliland’s independence predates the union of 1960, which lacked a binding legal foundation capable of extinguishing Somaliland’s statehood.”
Somaliland authorities are now looking to persuade the US to recognise its independence and have offered Washington access to its minerals and military bases in return.
Some analysts believe that the UAE will also follow Israel in declaring support for Somaliland’s sovereignty.
Somalia cut ties with the Gulf state last month, accusing it of influencing Israel’s decision.
