The African Union (AU) has rejected the recent Israeli recognition of the breakaway northern Somali territory of Somaliland, saying it defends the territorial integrity of its member states. Saudi Arabia downgraded an Arab African summit to a Saudi African format and explicitly referred to “54 states,” signaling refusal to host a non UN recognized entity. Somaliland and IsraelIsrael’s recognition of Somaliland triggered rapid, unified reactions across African and some Arab capitals, all rallying around Somalia’s territorial integrity. The AU needs to align with the UN-led process which calls on the parties to negotiate on the basis of Morocco’s autonomy plan. The AU needs to avoid prejudging outcomes and refuse to normalize non state actors as “member states,” before making statements on Somaliland.

Source: The North Africa Journal December 31, 2025 05:43 UTC