Breitbart By John Hayward
The government of Somalia on Thursday announced Israeli ships are no longer allowed to pass through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a vital passage that links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
The ban was first announced by Iranian state media, quoting a statement by Abdullah Warfa, Somalia’s ambassador to Ethiopia and the African Union (AU). According to Wafra, the action was taken in response to Israel’s recognition of the breakaway Republic of Somaliland.
Somaliland is one of three semi-autonomous regions of Somalia, and the one most aggressively interested in breaking away from the weak central government in Mogadishu. Somalilanders argue they are already self-governed in most respects and their region has few meaningful ethnic or cultural ties with the rest of Somalia. They also boast that their administration is more stable, less corrupt, and more productive to deal with than the one in Mogadishu.
Israel became the first nation to formally recognize Somaliland as an independent state in December 2025. Last week, Israel appointed its first ambassador to Somaliland in the person of Michael Lotem, formerly Israel’s ambassador to Kenya.
Lotem’s appointment was greeted with roars of applause by Somaliland’s parliament and with equal disapproval by the foreign ministry of Somalia, which denounced the ambassadorship as a “direct breach” of Somalia’s sovereignty.
…
Read Full Article Here… | Breitbart
Home | Caravan to Midnight (zutalk.com)
Be First to Comment