Somalia warns against any Israeli base plans on Somaliland
Al Jazeera
Somali minister tells Al Jazeera Israeli base plans in Somaliland risk dragging Somalia into ‘external confrontations’.
Somalia has warned that its territory cannot be used as a launching pad for military operations, after two media reports that said Israel is planning to establish a military base in the breakaway region of Somaliland, directly across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen.
“Somalia does not want to see its territory pulled into external confrontations or used in ways that could further destabilise an already sensitive region,” Ali Omar, Somalia’s state minister for foreign affairs, told Al Jazeera on Thursday.
The warning from Mogadishu comes after US outlet Bloomberg and Sweden’s public radio Ekot reported this week about Israeli plans for a military installation near the strategic port city of Berbera on the Gulf of Aden.
The reports come as the US‑Israeli war on Iran edges towards its second week, with the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed and the Houthis warning that they are prepared to enter the conflict.
In comments to Bloomberg, Somaliland’s presidency minister, Khadar Abdi, said Somaliland would pursue a “strategic relationship” with Israel that “encompasses a lot of things.” He added that the possibility of an Israeli base had not yet been discussed yet, but that it “will be analysed at some point.”
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