Somalia’s Al-Qaeda-linked militant group Al-Shabaab has promised to fight any attempt by Israel “to claim or use parts of Somaliland” following its recognition of the breakaway territory.
According to the Al-Shabaab, the Israel’s recognition of Somaliland as a sovereign state showed it.
“We will not accept it, and we will fight against it,” Al-Shabaab said in a statement.
According to reports, the territory of Somaliland is roughly a third the size of France and corresponds more or less to the former British Somaliland protectorate.
Other reports indicate that it has its own money, army and police and enjoys relative stability compared to its neighbours.
But, until now, Somaliland had not been publicly recognised by any country, which has kept it politically and economically isolated despite its location on one of the world’s busiest trade routes connecting the Indian Ocean to the Suez Canal.
