The Somali government this weekend issued a ban on Israeli ships passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Mogadishu said the decision is part of its response to Israel’s recent recognition of Somaliland and appointment of an ambassador to the breakaway region, Somali ambassador to Ethiopia and the African Union Abdullahi Warfa said.
“Any Country interfering in Somalia’s internal affairs and compromising its territorial integrity and sovereignty will face repercussions, including potential restrictions on access to the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait,” Warfa commented on social media.
The comments followed Israel’s move to begin implementing its agreement with Somaliland to exchange ambassadors, after Tel Aviv became the first country last year to recognise the breakaway region.
Analysts said Somalia lacks the capacity to enforce such a blockade, with no functional navy, no air force capable of expeditionary operations, and no stockpiles of ballistic missiles, although analysts said the rhetoric still carries diplomatic consequences.
“This specific rhetoric is an own goal: seeking to ‘punish’ Israel by blocking the Red Sea risks aligning Somalia with the Houthis, aggravating brittle ties with US,” prominent Horn of Africa analyst Rashid Abdi was quoted as saying.
Somaliland is not internationally recognised as a sovereign state, although it declared independence from Somalia in 1991.
A territory becomes a sovereign state when its independence is recognised by the United Nations.
For this reason, it has no seat at the UN and is considered, under international law, part of Somalia.
MG/as/APA