Arab League condemns Israel's foreign minister visit to Somaliland

The Arab league has condemned the visit by Israel’s foreign minister to Somaliland region, calling it a futile attempt to legitimise the recognition of the breakaway region.

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar visited Somaliland's capital, Hargeisa, and held talks with the self-proclaimed official of Somaliland, Abdurrahman Irro.

The league said in a statement that "any official or quasi-official dealings" with officials in Somaliland treated as separate from Somalia was a "flagrant violation of Somalia's unity and sovereignty".

The move would "undermine regional peace and security and exacerbate political tensions in Somalia, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Horn of Africa", the Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said in a statement.

Israel last month announced its official recognition of Somaliland as an independent, sovereign state, making it the only country in the world to recognise the breakaway region.

World condemnation

World leaders and international organisations have strongly condemned the decision and have rallied behind Somalia, stressing the need to respect its national sovereignty.

Somaliland lacks official recognition since unilaterally declaring independence from Somalia in 1991. Mogadishu maintains that the region is part of its national territory.

A special meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council on Tuesday condemned "in the strongest terms" the recognition by Israel and called for its "immediate revocation".

"The (AU) Council strongly condemns, in the strongest terms, the unilateral recognition of the so-called 'Republic of Somaliland' by Israel," it said in a post on X after a ministerial meeting.