KUWAIT CITY: The Trump administration is increasingly concerned the 74-strong coalition it cobbled together to destroy Daesh is losing sight of the prime objective.
It’s pressing those partners to refocus, overcome rivalries and concentrate on the task at hand: the eradication from Iraq and Syria of Daesh.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson plans to sound that alarm at a coalition gathering in Kuwait on Tuesday. His visit comes with the fight at a critical moment and the mission shifting from offensive military operations to stabilization.
Distractions are adding up, such as Turkey’s fighting with US-backed Kurdish rebels in Syria and renewed spillover from Syria’s civil war. Meanwhile, hostilities between noncoalition actors Iran, its proxies in Syria, and Israel risk creating a new conflict in an already crowded battlespace.
US tells anti-Daesh coalition to ‘keep eyes on prize’
US tells anti-Daesh coalition to ‘keep eyes on prize’
Arab and Islamic states reject Israel’s recognition of Somaliland
- Israel formally recognized Somaliland as an “independent and sovereign state” on Friday
- Saudi Arabia on Friday expressed full support for sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity of Somalia
A group of foreign ministers from Arab and Islamic countries, alongside the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), have firmly rejected Israel’s announcement of its recognition of the Somaliland region within Somalia.
In a joint statement issued on Saturday, the ministers condemned Israel’s decision, announced on December 26, warning that the move carries “serious repercussions for peace and security in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea region” and undermines international peace and security, the Jordan News Agency reported.
The statement described the recognition as an unprecedented and flagrant violation of international law and the charter of the United Nations, which uphold the principles of state sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, JNA added.
Israel formally recognized Somaliland as an “independent and sovereign state” and signed an agreement to establish diplomatic ties, as the region’s leader hailed its first-ever official recognition.
The ministers reaffirmed their full support for the sovereignty of Somalia, rejecting any measures that would undermine its unity or territorial integrity.
They warned that recognizing the independence of parts of states sets a dangerous precedent and poses a direct threat to international peace and security.
The statement also reiterated categorical opposition to any attempt to link the move with plans to displace the Palestinian people outside their land, stressing that such proposals are rejected “in form and substance.”
Alongside the Jordanian foreign ministry, the joint statement was issued by the foreign ministers of Egypt, Algeria, Comoros, Djibouti, The Gambia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Maldives, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, Turkiye and Yemen, as well as the OIC.
Saudi Arabia on Friday expressed full support for the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of Somalia, and expressed its rejection of the declaration of mutual recognition between Israel and Somaliland.
