Somalia refuses to accept Israeli naval base

Somalia will not accept Israeli presence in the country ‘under any circumstances’ and will resist any attempts to be pulled into the Middle East’s crises, its President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud told Al Jazeera. Mohamud said Israel was planning to establish a naval base in Berbera and use the city’s airport, adding that its real aim was to get closer to the Gulf states and Iran. Berbera is a port city on the Gulf of Aden coast in Somaliland – the self-declared republic in northwestern Somalia that Israel recognised last year, but which is claimed by Mogadishu. The Somali President described Israel as a ‘destabilising force' that does not abide by international law. He also criticised Tel Aviv’s recognition of Somaliland in December. No country other than Israel recognises Somaliland, while the region’s own residents are completely opposed to an Israeli presence, Mohamud said. Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 and has governed itself independently for more than three decades. But it had not secured recognition from any United Nations member state until Israel’s move.