Somali President calls Israel’s Somaliland move a dark day in nation’s history

Saturday June 13, 2026

Mogadishu (HOL) — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said Israel’s reported recognition of Somaliland in December 2025 was “one of the darkest days in the history of Somalia,” accusing Tel Aviv of exploiting the long-running dispute between Mogadishu and Hargeisa.

In an interview with Dawan TV last week, Mohamud said the federal government faced two choices in responding to the Somaliland dispute: force or dialogue.

“We weighed the two options, and in the end we chose dialogue and persuasion,” Mohamud said. “Although it took more than 30 years, it was the most appropriate path under the circumstances.”

The president said Somalia has never had diplomatic relations or formal cooperation with Israel, though he acknowledged Israel’s status as a member of the United Nations and other international bodies.

“We cannot deny the existence of Israel as a state, but we have no relationship or cooperation,” Mohamud said. “Somalia sees Israel as an aggressor against the Palestinian people.”

Mohamud said Somalia continues to support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a position he said is shared by many governments around the world.

Speaking about Somaliland, Mohamud said regional geopolitical shifts and Israel’s wars had led Tel Aviv to seek interests in parts of Somalia.

He said Israel had repeatedly sought cooperation with Somalia but that Mogadishu had refused because of religious principles, humanitarian values and its political position on Palestine.

“They found people who are desperate for recognition for a long time, and then they took advantage of it,” Mohamud said. “This is a mistake that Somaliland has made, and it may put Somalia in unnecessary situations.”

The president said Israel’s move would not lead to broad international recognition for Somaliland.

“I believe that this is not real recognition but a trap that Somaliland has fallen into,” he said. “It has been seeking recognition for 30 years, and I do not expect it to get it this way.”

Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 and has operated with its own government, security forces and election institutions. Somalia’s federal government continues to reject Somaliland’s claim to sovereignty, insisting that the northern region remains part of the Federal Republic of Somalia.