Somaliland

How did Somaliland break away from Somalia?

Britain signed treaties with clans on the coast from 1884 and set up the British Somaliland protectorate in 1887. On June 26, 1960, it became independent as the State of Somaliland. Somaliland says about 35 countries recognized it. Five days later, on July 1, 1960, it united with the former Italian Somaliland to form the Somali Republic.

Siad Barre's military government took power in 1969. In the 1980s the Somali National Movement, drawn mostly from the Isaaq clan, fought his government. In May and June 1988 government forces shelled Hargeisa and Burao and bombed them from the air, destroying an estimated 70-90% of Hargeisa. Estimates of civilians killed in 1987-89, most of them Isaaq, range from about 50,000 to 200,000. Up to 500,000 people fled to Ethiopia. A 2001 investigation commissioned by the UN concluded that the Somali government had planned and carried out genocide against the Isaaq.

After Barre fell in January 1991, the Somali National Movement and clan elders declared independence on May 18, 1991, at a conference in Burao. In a referendum on May 31, 2001, 97% voted for a constitution that confirms independence.

Why do so few countries recognize Somaliland?

The African Union, like its predecessor since 1964, holds that the borders African states had at independence should not change. Many governments fear that recognizing Somaliland would encourage other breakaway movements. Somaliland answers that it was a separate colony with its own borders and was briefly independent in 1960, so leaving the union restores an older border. Somalia says Somaliland is a region of Somalia. In January 2026 Somalia's president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, said "All doors to dialogue are open, except the door of Somalia's unity."

Talks between the two have stalled. Djibouti hosted a meeting in June 2020, but the next round was postponed indefinitely. There were no formal talks in 2025 or 2026. Asked in December 2025 whether the United States would follow Israel, President Trump said "No" and asked, "Does anyone know what Somaliland is, really?" The State Department said it recognizes Somalia's territorial integrity, "which includes the territory of Somaliland."

What has changed since Israel recognized Somaliland?

On December 26, 2025, Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, its foreign minister, Gideon Sa'ar, and Somaliland's president, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, known as Irro, signed a declaration of mutual recognition on a video call. Irro says he had sent a request for recognition to governments around the world in May 2025, and Israel was the only one to answer positively. Somalia called the step a "deliberate attack" on its sovereignty. The African Union, the Arab League, Egypt, Turkey and China condemned it. The UN Security Council met on December 29.

Sa'ar visited Hargeisa on January 6, 2026, the first Israeli cabinet minister to do so. On June 15, 2026, on a state visit, Irro opened Somaliland's first embassy abroad, in Jerusalem. In September 2026 Irro lobbied in Washington, but the State Department said no change of policy was under consideration.

Somalia canceled all its agreements with the United Arab Emirates in January 2026, including the deals under which DP World, a company from Dubai, runs Berbera port. Somaliland rejected this. On October 3, 2026, Somalia's president said Israel plans a naval base at Berbera. Somaliland denied it. On October 4 Somalia, Egypt, Eritrea and Sudan signed a declaration rejecting any recognition of Somaliland.

Why does Berbera matter?

Berbera is Somaliland's main port, on the Gulf of Aden, which leads to the Bab el-Mandeb strait and the Red Sea. In 2016 Somaliland's parliament approved a 30-year concession for DP World, a Dubai port company. DP World opened a new 400 m container terminal in June 2021, raising capacity from 150,000 to 500,000 standard container units a year. A road called the Berbera Corridor runs to the border with Ethiopia, which has had no coast of its own since Eritrea became independent in 1993.

In July 2026 the French newspaper Le Monde reported a base funded by the United Arab Emirates near Berbera's airport. No government confirmed it. Irro told The Economist that neither Israel nor the United States has forces in Somaliland but that he would offer Berbera if asked. Somalia says it will not accept an Israeli presence "under any circumstances."