South Africa accuses Israel of external interference in Somalia

The South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has rejected and criticised Israel’s decision to recognise Somaliland as an independent state.

Israel became the first country to formally recognise the self-declared Republic of Somaliland as an independent country from Somalia on 26 December.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would seek immediate cooperation with Somaliland in agriculture, health, technology and the economy. He further invited Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi to visit in the future.

Somalia’s government condemned Israel’s move as an “unlawful step” and a “deliberate attack” on its sovereignty.

According to Ministry spokesperson Chrispin Phiri, the South African government has chosen to stand with Somalia.

DIRCO said on 29 December that it sees the recognition as a violation of the Federal Republic of Somalia’s territorial integrity and a direct threat to peace in the Horn of Africa.

“We uphold the African Union’s principle of uti possidetis, the sanctity of inherited borders, as the continent’s essential safeguard against conflict,” Phiri said.

Chairperson of the African Union, H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, has already similarly reaffirmed the union’s commitment to Somalia.

He said that recognising Somaliland as an independent state risks setting a dangerous precedent with “far-reaching implications for peace and stability across the continent.”

Phiri said that South Africa distinguishes between decolonisation and secession, arguing that while decolonisation restores sovereignty, secession dismantles it.

“Israel’s action validates fragmentation and risks a domino effect of instability,” he said.

The Ministry has urged the international community to take this same stance and reject the “external interference” and support a “united, stable Somalia.”

‘Israel’s action risks a domino effect of instability’

Israel’s validation of Somaliland has prompted much global attention. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) convened a meeting on Monday night in response to the matter.

According to Al Jazeera, the United States was the only member of the 15-member body not to condemn the recognition, although it said that it does not plan to follow suit.

The United States defended Israel’s recognition and compared it to the recognition of an independent Palestinian state by numerous countries.

“Earlier this year, several countries, including members of this council, made the unilateral decision to recognise a nonexistent Palestinian state,” said US ambassador to the UN Tammy Bruce.

“Yet no emergency meeting was called to express this Council’s outrage,” she added, accusing colleagues of “double standards.”

Somalia’s UN ambassador, Abu Bakr Dahir Osman, called Israel’s move an “act of aggression” and said that this “utter disdain for law and morality must be stopped.”

Israel’s deputy UN ambassador, Jonathan Millar, told the council that the decision was not a hostile step towards Somalia, “nor does it preclude future dialogue between the parties.”

“Recognition is not an act of defiance; it is an opportunity,” Millar said. Somaliland President Abdullahi praised Israel’s decision as a step toward regional and global peace.

Somaliland has enjoyed effective autonomy since 1991, when Somalia descended into civil war, but the breakaway region has failed to receive recognition from any other country.

Over the years, Somalia has rallied international actors against any country recognising Somaliland.

The former British protectorate hopes that recognition by Israel will encourage other nations to follow suit, increasing its diplomatic heft and access to international markets.