Somaliland president says recognition of state ‘on the horizon’ following Trump talks
The new president of Somaliland says his state, which broke away from Somalia in 1991, is on the brink of securing international recognition – a development that would inflame tensions in the already tumultuous Horn of Africa.
In an interview in the presidential palace in the capital, Hargeisa, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi tells the Guardian it is “likely” that Somaliland will finally win acceptance of its right to self-determination, which has eluded the territory since it declared independence from Somalia 34 years ago.
“Recognition is on the horizon,” says the 69-year-old.
Such a move would infuriate Somalia, which would view it as an attack on its sovereignty, unsettle regional powers in the strategic peninsula and fan broader concern that it sets a precedent for secessionist movements across the African continent.