MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somaliland authorities have barred Djibouti’s national airline from landing in the self-declared republic, sharply escalating a diplomatic row that has intensified since Israel recognised Somaliland last month, Caasimada Online news website reported on Monday.
The flag carrier had been operating four weekly flights to Somaliland, most of them into the capital, Hargeisa.
The ban follows a series of retaliatory diplomatic moves. Last week, Somaliland said it had recalled its representative to Djibouti and, at the same time, Djibouti announced the closure of Somaliland’s liaison office in the country. The office had been operating since 2012.
Djibouti has explicitly linked its actions to Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, describing the move as illegitimate, contrary to international law and unacceptable.
Djiboutian authorities have taken the strongest stance among countries in the region, contrasting sharply with Kenya and Ethiopia, whose governments have largely remained silent on the issue.
President Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti, a close ally of Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, has emerged as a leading regional critic of Israel’s decision. Djibouti’s government delivered a robust response at the United Nations Security Council, signalling its firm opposition. Many observers believe the decision to shut Somaliland’s liaison office was taken at the request of Somalia’s federal government.
The deterioration in relations between Djibouti and Somaliland is also raising serious security concerns, particularly in Somaliland’s western Awdal region. More than a dozen people were killed last week during violent protests in the regional capital, Borama.
Awdal borders Djibouti and has seen an influx in recent weeks of hundreds of armed Issa clan militias. The Issa clan is the same clan as Djibouti’s president. The militias say they are mobilising to defend territory in Saylac and surrounding areas from Gadabursi communities, who also inhabit the region.
There are growing fears that the diplomatic standoff could further inflame fragile clan relations across Awdal. Some analysts warn that Somalia’s federal government could use Djibouti’s influence and territory to arm opponents of Somaliland in the region, with the aim of weakening Somaliland’s control and reducing it to a de facto one-clan enclave.
Somaliland has already lost vast swathes of territory across Sool region, which it claims as part of its territory. Those areas are now under the control of a newly established federal state aligned with Somalia’s federal government.
Amid the current tensions, calls are increasing for Somalia’s government to establish a similar federal state in Awdal, leveraging Djibouti’s border access and political backing. However, some analysts caution that such a move could expose Djibouti to diplomatic backlash from the United States and Israel, further complicating an already volatile regional landscape.
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