ANKARA: Somalia’s president is to visit close ally Turkiye on Tuesday following Israel’s recognition of the breakaway territory of Somaliland, Turkiye’s presidency said.
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud will hold talks “on the current situation in Somalia in the fight against terrorism, measures taken by the federal Somali government toward national unity and regional developments,” Burhanettin Duran, head of the Turkish presidency’s communications directorate, said on X.
Turkiye on Friday denounced Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, a self-proclaimed republic, calling it “overt interference in Somalia’s domestic affairs.”
Ankara, a close ally of Somalia, provides military and economic assistance to the country that has been devastated by civil war since the early 1990s.
Turkiye is helping to rebuild its army and infrastructure while ensuring its presence in east Africa, including at sea.
Somaliland declared independence in 1991, as Somalia was plunged into chaos following the fall of dictator Siad Barre.
The region has operated autonomously since then and possesses its own currency, army and police force.
It has generally experienced greater stability than Somalia, where Al-Shabab militants periodically mount attacks in the capital Mogadishu.
Diplomatic isolation has been the norm — until Israel’s move to recognize it as a sovereign nation, which has been criticized by the African Union, Egypt, the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council and the Saudi-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
The European Union has insisted Somalia’s sovereignty should be respected.
The recognition is the latest move by Israel that has angered Turkiye, with relations souring between the two countries in recent years.
Ankara has strongly condemned Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip, and Israel has opposed Turkiye’s participation in a future stabilization force in the Palestinian territory.
Somali president to visit Turkiye after Israeli recognition of Somaliland
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Somali president to visit Turkiye after Israeli recognition of Somaliland
- Ankara, a close ally of Somalia, provides military and economic assistance to the country that has been devastated by civil war since the early 1990s
- Somaliland declared independence in 1991, as Somalia was plunged into chaos following the fall of dictator Siad Barre
HRW says Israel’s Lebanon evacuation risks violating laws of war
- “Calling on everyone who lives south of the Litani (River) to evacuate immediately raises serious legal and humanitarian red flags,” said Kaiss
- “How are older people, the sick and people with disabilities going to be able to evacuate immediately?”
BEIRUT: Human Rights Watch said on Thursday that the Israeli military’s call for residents of vast areas of southern Lebanon to evacuate raised “serious risks of violations of the laws of war.”
Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war when Iran-backed Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel with Israel conducting air strikes across the country and its troops pushing into border towns.
On Thursday, Israel renewed its warning to residents of hundreds of square kilometers (miles) of southern Lebanon to evacuate because of military action.
“Calling on everyone who lives south of the Litani (River) to evacuate immediately raises serious legal and humanitarian red flags and fears for the safety of civilians,” said Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch.
“How are older people, the sick and people with disabilities going to be able to evacuate immediately? And how will their safety be guaranteed as they leave?” he said in a statement from the rights group.
HRW said “the sweeping nature” of Israel’s call raised “concerns that their purpose is not to protect civilians,” adding that the area was home to hundreds of thousands of people.
The evacuation call “raises serious risks of violations of the laws of war,” it added.
Lebanese authorities said dozens of people have been killed and tens of thousands displaced from their homes since Monday.
