Latest news with #Somalilanders
New York Times
12-04-2025
- Business
- New York Times
How Trump Offers This African Territory Its ‘Biggest Opportunity'
The Cold War-era airstrip, its asphalt gleaming in the sunlight, stretched toward the coastline on the Horn of Africa. A few miles away, dock workers unloaded cargo at a port on the Gulf of Aden, a vital global shipping route frequently under attack by Houthi rebels from Yemen. These two maritime facilities in Berbera city belong to Somaliland, an enclave of about five million people that has functioned independently from Somalia since 1991. Some Somalilanders see the port and the airstrip as the keys to achieving a decades-old ambition: international recognition. Somaliland has its own currency and passport, as well as control over its foreign and military affairs. It has held several widely praised independent elections. Now, it wants to make a deal with President Trump in which the United States would lease both the port and the airstrip in exchange for long-awaited statehood. Gaining an endorsement from the most powerful country in the world, Somalilanders say, would bring global investment and broader diplomatic and security ties. But some analysts fear that recognizing Somaliland could disrupt the region, strengthen groups like Al Shabab and upset close U.S. allies like Egypt, Turkey and the African Union, who fear the move would set a precedent for secessionist movements across Africa. Map locates Somaliland in Somalia. By The New York Times The timing may be auspicious. The Trump administration is considering closing its embassy in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, citing security risks. Persistent attacks from Houthis have disrupted international shipping, heightening concerns of growing instability in the region. And as the trade war with China heats up, a new U.S. foothold on the continent could help counter Chinese influence. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Somaliland rejects Somalia offer of key port to US
Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland has rejected an attempt by the central government to give the US exclusive control of a port and airbase in Berbera. The city lies on the strategic Gulf of Aden, on the northern coast of Somaliland. The territory, which declared independence in 1991 as Somalia descended into civil war, says the facilities are not Mogadishu's to give away. In a letter to US President Donald Trump, seen by Reuters news agency, Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud also offered port and airbase within Somalia, saying all four would strengthen US security operations. Somaliland's Foreign Affairs Minister Abdirahman Dahir Aden dismissed the move as "desperate". Signals given before Trump began his second term have given Somalilanders hope that the US may become the world's first country to recognise the self-declared republic, which has functioned as a de facto state for nearly 34 years. "There is nothing they can do to stop the upcoming recognition of Somaliland," Mr Adan posted on X in response to the letter. Somaliland's recently expanded port in Berbera is run by DP World from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) - a key US ally. "The USA is not stupid. They know who they need to deal with when it comes to Berbera port," the minister told Reuters. Why Trump is on the warpath in Somalia The would-be African nation in love with Donald Trump Rare access to Somalia's US-funded 'lightning' brigade The US has long played a pivotal role in helping Somalia fight Islamist militants linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group by providing intelligence and air strikes. Al-Shabab, which controls swathes of territory in southern and central Somalia, is regarded as al-Qaeda's most successful affiliate. Observers say Mogadishu fears that Trump will reduce US support, as he did during his first term. In December, the Somali government signed a $600,000 (£492,000) a year deal with a top Washington lobbying firm for advice on US-Somalia relations. The letter to Trump, which Reuters says is dated 16 March, explains how exclusive control of the offered airbases and ports could help the US counter the influence of other international players in the Horn of Africa - a likely reference to China and Russia. "These strategically positioned assets provide an opportunity to bolster American engagement in the region... while preventing external competitors from establishing a presence in this critical corridor," it said. But the federal set-up of Somalia may also scupper President Mohamud's offer of the port of Bosaso, which is located in the semi-autonomous north-eastern region of Puntland. Officials there have yet to comment on the letter, but Somalia's Garowe Online publication says that if the offer was made without consulting them. relations between Puntland and Mogadishu may be further strained. The second airbase mentioned is at Baledogle, north-west of the capital, where US soldiers already have a presence training Somali forces to fight al-Shabab. It is not the first time a port in Somaliland has been a source of dispute. Last year, Turkey stepped in to end a feud that threatened to escalate into a regional conflict after landlocked Ethiopia signed a maritime deal with Somaliland to build a port there. Somalia responded by calling the move an "act of aggression" as it regards Somaliland as part of its territory. Ethiopia and Somalia agree to end bitter Somaliland port feud Target Somalia: The new scramble for Africa? How the crisis in the Gulf could spread to East Africa Somalia's men in sarongs taking on al-Shabab militants Somali piracy 2.0 - the BBC meets the new robbers of the high seas Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Africa Daily Focus on Africa
BBC News
29-03-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Somaliland hits out over Somalia's offer to Trump of Berbera airbase and port
Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland has rejected an attempt by the central government to give the US exclusive control of a port and airbase in city lies on the strategic Gulf of Aden, on the northern coast of Somaliland. The territory, which declared independence in 1991 as Somalia descended into civil war, says the facilities are not Mogadishu's to give a letter to US President Donald Trump, seen by Reuters news agency, Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud also offered port and airbase within Somalia, saying all four would strengthen US security Foreign Affairs Minister Abdirahman Dahir Aden dismissed the move as "desperate". Signals given before Trump began his second term have given Somalilanders hope that the US may become the world's first country to recognise the self-declared republic, which has functioned as a de facto state for nearly 34 years."There is nothing they can do to stop the upcoming recognition of Somaliland," Mr Adan posted on X in response to the recently expanded port in Berbera is run by DP World from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) - a key US ally."The USA is not stupid. They know who they need to deal with when it comes to Berbera port," the minister told Reuters. The US has long played a pivotal role in helping Somalia fight Islamist militants linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group by providing intelligence and air which controls swathes of territory in southern and central Somalia, is regarded as al-Qaeda's most successful say Mogadishu fears that Trump will reduce US support, as he did during his first December, the Somali government signed a $600,000 (£492,000) a year deal with a top Washington lobbying firm for advice on US-Somalia letter to Trump, which Reuters says is dated 16 March, explains how exclusive control of the offered airbases and ports could help the US counter the influence of other international players in the Horn of Africa - a likely reference to China and Russia."These strategically positioned assets provide an opportunity to bolster American engagement in the region... while preventing external competitors from establishing a presence in this critical corridor," it the federal set-up of Somalia may also scupper President Mohamud's offer of the port of Bosaso, which is located in the semi-autonomous north-eastern region of there have yet to comment on the letter, but Somalia's Garowe Online publication says that if the offer was made without consulting them. relations between Puntland and Mogadishu may be further second airbase mentioned is at Baledogle, north-west of the capital, where US soldiers already have a presence training Somali forces to fight is not the first time a port in Somaliland has been a source of year, Turkey stepped in to end a feud that threatened to escalate into a regional conflict after landlocked Ethiopia signed a maritime deal with Somaliland to build a port responded by calling the move an "act of aggression" as it regards Somaliland as part of its territory. You may also be interested in: Ethiopia and Somalia agree to end bitter Somaliland port feudTarget Somalia: The new scramble for Africa?How the crisis in the Gulf could spread to East AfricaSomalia's men in sarongs taking on al-Shabab militantsSomali piracy 2.0 - the BBC meets the new robbers of the high seas Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Palestinians could do worse than setting up home in Somaliland
I've always had a soft spot for Somaliland. While visits to Somalia, just next door, entailed armed escorts and bullet-proof vests – hence I never went – to get to Somaliland you basically sauntered by foot over its border with Ethiopia, where I was freelancing, and hopped on a minibus which in less than three hours of driving through the desert dropped you off in the feisty capital, Hargeisa, where I'd stay at the wonderful pink-walled Oriental Hotel. I haven't thought much about the country since I left the Horn of Africa, but now they are talking about it as one of the options, along with neighbouring Puntland – an autonomous region in northeastern Somalia – for rehousing Palestinians from the wasteland of Gaza. I'm not convinced any of us should be considering or telling Palestinians where they 'can go'. But at the same time, one can't deny that the images of Gaza are pretty astonishing. What it takes to achieve that level of destruction is hard to comprehend, and I worked with a lot of bomb-dropping jets and Multi-Launch Rocket Systems in Iraq and Afghanistan. Palestinians clearly need somewhere to live. Perhaps some of the more centrist ones check out the Daily Telegraph. So this is for them, regarding what Somaliland is like as a potential get-out-of-jail/Armageddon card. One of the reasons I enjoyed going there is that the people are very friendly, especially after the recalcitrance and obstructionism of trying to report in Ethiopia. Somalilanders – like all Somalis –can't stop talking. They're upbeat, loud and gregarious. And exceptionally welcoming to a stranger. This was partly due to the fact that the international community still hasn't recognised it as a country, despite its breaking away from Somalia more than 30 years ago, and so it exits in a strange limbo state, unable to access global financing and all the rest of the international community's infrastructure. So the Somalilanders like the fact when someone comes to visit, thereby giving a degree of recognition to their self-declared sovereign state that no one else is willing to do officially. Hence the surprising proposal for absorbing Palestinians – reportedly in exchange for recognition of the country's sovereign status from Israel. The warm welcome I encountered also had something to do with them looking favourably on the British as colonisers, who, unlike the Italians in Somalia, didn't leave the place a basket case. But whether the locals would welcome a load of Palestinians is another matter – that said, Somalianders know all about having their homes and towns reduced to rubble, as happened during the civil war when the jets of Somalia's late dictator Mohamed Siad Barre pulverised Hargeisa. So its current inhabitants, having rebuilt their city and lives with little international assistance – due to that lack of recognition – might well be sympathetic to the Palestinians' situation. There is an uncomfortable truth, though, underpinning my good times spent there. Like all Brits embracing exciting adventure in foreign lands, I knew I could leave – as I did. When I was there, other than carrying out my journalism, I spent much of my time at the tea stalls drinking deliciously sweet brews – it's a booze-free country – and other times chewing the leaves of khat, famed for its nice low-level narcotic buzz; there wasn't much else for a visitor to do. Something a long-term transplant is going to have to confront. Islamist extremism has been gaining a foothold in East Africa for some time – one day as I walked through Hargeisa, a guy in Muslim frock mimed gunning me with an AK; I don't think it was meant humorously. This is a tough part of the world, and basically off the grid as far as most Western countries are concerned. So, that said, perhaps having a load of Palestinians – the current cause célèbre – in Somaliland might get people to finally pay more attention to the country, with the mutual benefits helping keep good relations between the locals and newcomers. Hargeisa clearly has advantages to a bombed-out Gaza. Perhaps it could work as temporary residence until Gaza is 'restored'. While Donald Trump's remarkable suggestions about turning Gaza into a 'Riviera of the Middle East' might seem typically Trumpian and outlandish, based on my time in Iraq, I get where he is coming from to a degree. My first tour in Iraq was spent in the city of Al Amarah. It was out in the sticks, marooned from the country's main urban focal points. The ungenerous visitor might easily take one look at Al Amarah under the midday sun and describe it as an unbearably remote dump. But during my first night at CIMIC House, the small civil-military outpost in the centre of the city (and where Rory Stewart initially held sway over the surrounding Maysan province), as I sat outside in my combats at a white plastic table, eating what the army chefs had rustled up and gazing over the Tigris River that ran by one side of the compound, I saw otherwise (this was before everything 'kicked off' and we took the country to hell and back again). While my fellow officers discussed forthcoming operations, guard routines and the manning of tanks, as the lowering red orb of the sun hovered over the wide shimmering expanse of the Tigris, I imagined the glow of bare shoulders and elegant dresses and the pouring of wine and clinking of glasses. 'This would be the perfect spot for a restaurant,' I mused, 'were there not a war going on.' I wasn't alone in succumbing to Iraq's hidden charms. Agatha Christie visited Iraq before its independence from Britain in 1932 and lived for a time in the city of Nimrud. Christie felt similarly about what she encountered as I did. 'What a beautiful spot it was,' she wrote. 'The Tigris was just a mile away, and on the great mound of the Acropolis, big stone Assyrian heads poked out of the soil…It was a spectacular stretch of country–peaceful, romantic and impregnated with the past.' Iraq, Afghanistan, Gaza – they all have such special qualities and potential. And yet they've all been taken down a terribly bloody path. Credit, then, to Somaliland for what it's achieved and the peace it's maintained. Perhaps not that bad a place to end up, then, at least for the time being. James Jeffrey is a writer, assistant online editor for the Catholic Herald and a Camino guide who splits his time between the US, UK and further afield Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Palestinians could do worse than setting up home in Somaliland
I've always had a soft spot for Somaliland. While visits to Somalia, just next door, entailed armed escorts and bullet-proof vests – hence I never went – to get to Somaliland you basically sauntered by foot over its border with Ethiopia, where I was freelancing, and hopped on a minibus which in less than three hours of driving through the desert dropped you off in the feisty capital, Hargeisa, where I'd stay at the wonderful pink-walled Oriental Hotel. I haven't thought much about the country since I left the Horn of Africa, but now they are talking about it as one of the options, along with neighbouring Puntland – an autonomous region in northeastern Somalia – for rehousing Palestinians from the wasteland of Gaza. I'm not convinced any of us should be considering or telling Palestinians where they 'can go'. But at the same time, one can't deny that the images of Gaza are pretty astonishing. What it takes to achieve that level of destruction is hard to comprehend, and I worked with a lot of bomb-dropping jets and Multi-Launch Rocket Systems in Iraq and Afghanistan. Palestinians clearly need somewhere to live. Perhaps some of the more centrist ones check out the Daily Telegraph. So this is for them, regarding what Somaliland is like as a potential get-out-of-jail/Armageddon card. One of the reasons I enjoyed going there is that the people are very friendly, especially after the recalcitrance and obstructionism of trying to report in Ethiopia. Somalilanders – like all Somalis –can't stop talking. They're upbeat, loud and gregarious. And exceptionally welcoming to a stranger. This was partly due to the fact that the international community still hasn't recognised it as a country, despite its breaking away from Somalia more than 30 years ago, and so it exits in a strange limbo state, unable to access global financing and all the rest of the international community's infrastructure. So the Somalilanders like the fact when someone comes to visit, thereby giving a degree of recognition to their self-declared sovereign state that no one else is willing to do officially. Hence the surprising proposal for absorbing Palestinians – reportedly in exchange for recognition of the country's sovereign status from Israel. The warm welcome I encountered also had something to do with them looking favourably on the British as colonisers, who, unlike the Italians in Somalia, didn't leave the place a basket case. But whether the locals would welcome a load of Palestinians is another matter – that said, Somalianders know all about having their homes and towns reduced to rubble, as happened during the civil war when the jets of Somalia's late dictator Mohamed Siad Barre pulverised Hargeisa. So its current inhabitants, having rebuilt their city and lives with little international assistance – due to that lack of recognition – might well be sympathetic to the Palestinians' situation. There is an uncomfortable truth, though, underpinning my good times spent there. Like all Brits embracing exciting adventure in foreign lands, I knew I could leave – as I did. When I was there, other than carrying out my journalism, I spent much of my time at the tea stalls drinking deliciously sweet brews – it's a booze-free country – and other times chewing the leaves of khat, famed for its nice low-level narcotic buzz; there wasn't much else for a visitor to do. Something a long-term transplant is going to have to confront. Islamist extremism has been gaining a foothold in East Africa for some time – one day as I walked through Hargeisa, a guy in Muslim frock mimed gunning me with an AK; I don't think it was meant humorously. This is a tough part of the world, and basically off the grid as far as most Western countries are concerned. So, that said, perhaps having a load of Palestinians – the current cause célèbre – in Somaliland might get people to finally pay more attention to the country, with the mutual benefits helping keep good relations between the locals and newcomers. Hargeisa clearly has advantages to a bombed-out Gaza. Perhaps it could work as temporary residence until Gaza is 'restored'. While Donald Trump's remarkable suggestions about turning Gaza into a 'Riviera of the Middle East' might seem typically Trumpian and outlandish, based on my time in Iraq, I get where he is coming from to a degree. My first tour in Iraq was spent in the city of Al Amarah. It was out in the sticks, marooned from the country's main urban focal points. The ungenerous visitor might easily take one look at Al Amarah under the midday sun and describe it as an unbearably remote dump. But during my first night at CIMIC House, the small civil-military outpost in the centre of the city (and where Rory Stewart initially held sway over the surrounding Maysan province), as I sat outside in my combats at a white plastic table, eating what the army chefs had rustled up and gazing over the Tigris River that ran by one side of the compound, I saw otherwise (this was before everything 'kicked off' and we took the country to hell and back again). While my fellow officers discussed forthcoming operations, guard routines and the manning of tanks, as the lowering red orb of the sun hovered over the wide shimmering expanse of the Tigris, I imagined the glow of bare shoulders and elegant dresses and the pouring of wine and clinking of glasses. 'This would be the perfect spot for a restaurant,' I mused, 'were there not a war going on.' I wasn't alone in succumbing to Iraq's hidden charms. Agatha Christie visited Iraq before its independence from Britain in 1932 and lived for a time in the city of Nimrud. Christie felt similarly about what she encountered as I did. 'What a beautiful spot it was,' she wrote. 'The Tigris was just a mile away, and on the great mound of the Acropolis, big stone Assyrian heads poked out of the soil…It was a spectacular stretch of country–peaceful, romantic and impregnated with the past.' Iraq, Afghanistan, Gaza – they all have such special qualities and potential. And yet they've all been taken down a terribly bloody path. Credit, then, to Somaliland for what it's achieved and the peace it's maintained. Perhaps not that bad a place to end up, then, at least for the time being. James Jeffrey is a writer, assistant online editor for the Catholic Herald and a Camino guide who splits his time between the US, UK and further afield Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
