The African Union Shuns Israel Over Support for Secession in Somalia

[Deeq A.]

Addis Ababa (Comment) — On 26 December 2025, Benjamin Netanyahu recognised the Somaliland Administration as a republic. This decision not only violates the Charter of the African Union (AU) but also effectively forecloses any possibility of Israel being reinstated as an observer at the AU. Israel’s observer status remains suspended.

This move is widely regarded as disingenuous, given the existence of dormant secessionist sentiments across several African countries. Advocates of the Biafra cause, for example, are among the most vocal supporters of secession in Somalia. They view Israel’s violation of the AU Charter as a precedent that could legitimise their own aspirations to secede from Nigeria.

Since 1993, only two African states (Eritrea and South Sudan) have emerged through secession, from Ethiopia and Sudan respectively. In both cases, independence followed United Nations–observed referendums. Their secession was neither unilateral nor imposed by a foreign power acting outside the framework of international law.

Somalia, a country that once faced the disapproval of the AU over its irredentist policies, is now under secessionist pressure. These pressures are often justified through a misapplication of the principle of the inviolability of colonial borders, a principle designed to govern inter-state territorial disputes, not internal territorial controversies.

By promoting secession in Somalia, Israel has alienated AU member states that previously supported its bid for observer status. Israel is now widely viewed as rejecting Somalia’s sovereignty, an outlook disturbingly similar to that of Al-shabaab, the terrorist organisation that brands the Federal Government of Somalia as apostate.

The outcome of the recent United Nations Security Council session on Somalia clearly indicates that Netanyahu’s manoeuvre is an exercise in futility.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Tobias Ellwood, a former British MP, described the unilateral and unlawful violation of Somalia’s sovereignty as “a dead cat”. He cautioned Somali secessionists against embracing such support, warning: “I hope your eyes are open to the difficulties that backing from this particular individual has; it comes with baggage.” Ellwood urged secessionist advocates to better understand both realpolitik and international law before drawing false conclusions from Israel’s unlawful actions.

© Puntland Post, 2025