Breakaway Africa Region Seeks US Recognition With Base, Minerals

Deeq A. · Wednesday at 06:27 AM

Breakaway #Africa Region seeks #US recognition with base, minerals

#Somaliland, which proclaimed independence from Somalia in 1991, is willing to offer the US a military base at the entrance to the Red Sea and critical-minerals deals in its quest for international recognition as a sovereign state.

While the US currently acknowledges Somalia’s claim to the territory, Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi is lobbying Washington to support the semi-autonomous region’s push for recognition — joining a wider competition for Donald Trump’s attention as the US vies with China for strategic resources in Africa.

Abdullahi, who came to power in the breakaway Horn of Africa region in 2024, said talks with the US Embassy in Somalia and Department of Defense are aimed at securing a new partnership on economic cooperation, security and counter-terrorism.

“We discussed ways and means to collaborate in security, in trade and in regional stability,” the president said in an interview on Monday, noting that the US ambassador to Somalia has visited Somaliland several times in recent months, while defense officials traveled to his region in December.

The U.S. Department of Defense did not respond to requests for comment.

Somaliland has failed to gain international recognition as a sovereign state since proclaiming independence. But while Somalia has grappled with three decades of civil war and an entrenched Islamist-militant insurgency, the breakaway region has been mostly peaceful.

Recognizing strategically placed Somaliland would strengthen America’s foothold in an increasingly important region, where Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen target ships with links to Israel, the US and other nations supporting the war in Gaza. The United Arab Emirates, a close US ally, already runs a port at Berbera in Somaliland and controls a nearby airstrip that’s used by military planes.

The US would also have to consider what Somaliland recognition would mean for security co-operation with Somalia, where it’s played a major role in helping the government fight Islamic State and Al-Qaida affiliates. Africa Command deputy head John Brennan said fighting terror groups was “our main effort,” especially in eastern Africa.

“That’s where most of our people are,” he told reporters Monday. “It’s the biggest investment that we have.”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-07-30/breakaway-africa-region-seeks-us-recognition-with-base-minerals

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