JOS, Nigeria: State governors in Nigeria on Friday moved to calm fears after clashes between pro-Biafra supporters and the military risked taking on a wider ethnic dimension.
In Jos, the capital of the central state of Plateau, Gov. Simon Lalong summoned leaders of the Hausa and Igbo communities for talks following skirmishes on Thursday.
At least two people were reported to have been killed in violence at two markets but police managed to restore control by firing warning shots into the air, eyewitnesses said.
Lalong, who called the clashes “avoidable and totally unnecessary,” imposed an indefinite dusk-to-dawn curfew in the city on Thursday.
Jos lies at the fault line of Nigeria’s religious divide between its mainly Muslim north and the predominantly Christian south, and has been hit by violence in the past.
The Hausa are the dominant ethnic group in the north while the Igbo are mainly found in the southeast.
In June, Igbo people living in the northern city of Kaduna were told to leave, as separatist sentiment surged in different parts of the country.
In recent days, supporters of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) movement clashed with the security services in the southern city of Port Harcourt and southeastern state of Abia.
The military claims a build-up of troops in Abia and around the home of IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu in the state capital, Umuahia, is part of an operation against violent crime.
But IPOB suspects it is designed to crackdown on its activities. The group wants the Igbos to secede and create an independent republic of Biafra. A unilateral declaration of independence in 1967 led to a brutal civil war that lasted 30 months and left more than 1 million people dead.
A Nigerian Army spokesman, Col. Sagir Musa, rejected as “baseless and mischievous” claims that troops invaded Kanu’s compound.
Kanu is currently on bail pending the resumption of his trial in the capital, Abuja, on charges of treasonable felony.
Eyewitnesses to the clashes in Jos said Igbos were accused of “killing Hausas in the southeast,” although there has been no official confirmation of such claims.
In Abia, state Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu said soldiers would be gradually withdrawn from the streets and he would raise the issue with President Muhammadu Buhari.
In the northwestern state of Niger, Gov. Abubakar Sani Bello warned citizens against “hate speeches, violent agitation, rumor and sentiment” as well as reprisal attacks.
“Niger state is very central in Nigeria’s evolution and has always been a melting pot of people from various parts of the world,” he said in a statement.
Calls for calm as tensions rise in Nigeria
Calls for calm as tensions rise in Nigeria
Somalia denounces Israeli recognition of Somaliland
- Israel repeatedly hit targets in Yemen after the Gaza war broke out in October 2023, in response to Houthi attacks on Israel that the rebels said were in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip
- Egypt’s foreign ministry said its top diplomat had spoken with his counterparts from Turkiye, Somalia and Djibouti, who together condemned the move and emphasized “their full support for the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia”
MOGADISHU: Somalia reacted angrily Friday after Israel formally recognized its northern region of Somaliland as an “independent and sovereign state” — the first country country to do so.
Somaliland, which declared independence from Somalia in 1991, has for decades pushed for international recognition, which has been the key priority for president Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi since he took office last year.
But a Somali foreign ministry statement warned that the decision was “deliberate attack” on its sovereignty that would undermine peace in the region. Several other countries also condemned Israel’s decision.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he announced “the official recognition of the Republic of Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state,” making Israel the first country to do so.
“The declaration is in the spirit of the Abraham Accords,” Netanyahu’s office said, referring to several agreements between Israel and Arab countries brokered by US President Donald Trump during his first presidency to normalize ties with Israel.
It said Netanyahu had invited Abdullahi to visit.
Hailing Israel’s decision, Abdullahi said in a post on X that it marked the beginning of a “strategic partnership.”
“This is a historic moment as we warmly welcome” he said, affirming “Somaliland’s readiness to join the Abraham Accords,” he added.
In Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, crowds of people took to the streets to celebrate, many carrying the flag of the breakaway state, said sources.
- ‘Illegitimate actions’ -
Somalia’s foreign ministry said: “Illegitimate actions of this nature seriously undermine regional peace and stability, exacerbate political and security tensions, in the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the Middle East and the wider region.”
Turkiye, a close ally of Somalia, also condemned the move.
“This initiative by Israel, which aligns with its expansionist policy... constitutes overt interference in Somalia’s domestic affairs,” it said in a foreign ministry statement.
Egypt’s foreign ministry said its top diplomat had spoken with his counterparts from Turkiye, Somalia and Djibouti, who together condemned the move and emphasized “their full support for the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia.”
In video showing Netanyahu speaking to Abdullahi by telephone, the Israeli leader said: “I want you to know that I am signing now as we speak Israel’s official recognition of the Somaliland,” adding that the new relationship would offer economic opportunities.
“I am very, very happy and I am very proud of this day and I want to wish you and the people of Somaliland the very, very best,” he said.
Netanyahu also said that he would communicate to Trump Abdullahi’s “willingness and desire to join the Abraham accords.”
A self-proclaimed republic, Somaliland enjoys a strategic position on the Gulf of Aden, has its own money, passports and army. But since its unilateral declaration of independence in 1991, it has grappled with decades of isolation.
- Strategic -
Analysts say matters of strategy were behind Israel’s drive to recognize Somaliland.
“Israel requires allies in the Red Sea region for many strategic reasons, among them the possibility of a future campaign against the Houthis,” said the Institute for National Security Studies in a paper last month, referring to Yemen’s Iran-backed rebels.
“Somaliland is an ideal candidate for such cooperation as it could offer Israel potential access to an operational area close to the conflict zone,” it said, adding there were also economic motives.
Israel repeatedly hit targets in Yemen after the Gaza war broke out in October 2023, in response to Houthi attacks on Israel that the rebels said were in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The Houthis have halted their attacks since a fragile truce began in Gaza in October.
Somaliland’s lack of international recognition has hampered access to foreign loans, aid and investment, and the territory remains deeply impoverished.
A deal between landlocked Ethiopia and Somaliland last year to lease a stretch of coastline for a port and military base enraged Somalia.
Israel has been trying to bolster relations with countries in the Middle East and Africa.
Historic agreements struck late in Trump’s first term in 2020 saw several countries including Muslim-majority United Arab Emirates and Morocco normalize relations with Israel, but wars that have stoked Arab anger, particularly in Gaza, have hampered recent efforts.
