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Somalia

Edna Adan Ismail is interviewed in Hargeisa, Somaliland on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. (AP/Brian Inganga)
March 2, 2026, 10:43 pm
Nurse to nation-builder, Somaliland’s honorary ‘first lady’ hails ‘natural’ ties with Israel
Edna Adan Ismail, 88, says she was working on forging diplomatic relations with Jerusalem as foreign minister two decades ago, recognizing countries’ shared interests
By Diana Bletter
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, left, speaks alongside Somaliland's President Abdirahman Abdullahi Mohamed during a press conference at the Presidential Palace in Hargeisa, the capital of the breakaway East African region, on January 6, 2026. (Somaliland Presidential Office via AFP)
January 14, 2026, 10:30 am
Israel’s recognition of Somaliland brings danger and opportunity to a rough region
‘It is a mutually beneficial friendship,’ says breakaway region’s FM, though al-Shabab threats, Houthi risks and Middle East power games make the new ties with Jerusalem precarious
By SAM METZ and Omar Faruk
People protest against Israel’s recognition of the Republic of Somaliland in Mogadishu, Somalia, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP/Farah Abdi Warsameh)
January 9, 2026, 12:46 pm
Hundreds protest Israeli recognition of Somaliland in Mogadishu
Demonstrators wave Somali flags and chant patriotic songs at third such event since Jerusalem became first UN state to recognize independent Somaliland
By Omar Faruk
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar's visits Somaliland's capital, Hargeisa, January 6, 2026. (Shlomi Amsalem/GPO)
January 6, 2026, 3:20 pm
Sa’ar visits Somaliland to meet with president for 1st time since Israeli recognition
Alongside Somaliland’s president, foreign minister says Israel ‘truly honored’ to be first to recognize country, hopes others will follow; both reiterate pledge to open embassies
By Lazar Berman and Agencies
A woman and child relax next to a mural of Somaliland's flag, in Hargeisa, Somaliland, a semi-autonomous breakaway region of Somalia, on February 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
January 1, 2026, 6:01 am
Somaliland’s little-known Jewish past spans Yemenite traders and contested legends
Though no Jews live there today, the African territory has a history of Jewish merchants, and a tribal clan with a crypto-Jew origin story from centuries before Israel’s recent recognition
By Zev Stub
Residents wave Somali flags at a rally against Israel's recognition of Somaliland at Mogadishu Stadium in Mogadishu on December 30, 2025. (Hassan Ali Elmi/AFP)
December 30, 2025, 8:36 pm
Thousands rally in Somalia against Israeli recognition of Somaliland
Somali president charges that Israel wants to move Gazans to Somaliland, build a military base there and have it join the Abraham Accords; Erdogan decries ‘illegitimate and unacceptable’ decision
By Agencies
Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud delivers a joint press conference with the German Chancellor after talks at the Chancellery in Berlin, on November 5, 2024. (Odd ANDERSEN / AFP)
December 30, 2025, 10:13 am
Somali president to visit Turkey after Israeli recognition of breakaway Somaliland
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud will discuss measures for ‘national unity’ and other ‘regional developments,’ after Ankara, Mogadishu both denounce Israel’s decision on autonomous territory
By AFP and ToI Staff
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud speaks during the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City on September 25, 2025. (TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP)
December 28, 2025, 6:38 pm
Somali president: Israel’s recognition of Somaliland a ‘threat’ to regional stability
Amid wave of condemnations of Israeli move, Taiwan welcomes decision, calling Jerusalem, Taipei and Hargeisa ‘like-minded democratic partners’
By AFP and ToI Staff
Hundreds of newly trained al-Shabaab fighters perform military exercises in the Lafofe area some 18 kilometers south of Mogadishu, Somalia. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)
December 27, 2025, 6:21 pm
Somalia’s Al-Shabaab vows to fight any Israeli use of Somaliland after recognition
‘We will not accept it,’ terror group says in statement after Jerusalem becomes first to recognize breakaway republic, in move that may help it combat Yemen’s Houthis
By AFP and ToI Staff
Crowds celebrate in Somaliland's capital, Hargeisa, as an Israeli flag is projected on the exterior of the National Museum of the breakaway East African nation following its recognition by Israel on December 26, 2025. (Screen capture via social media, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
December 27, 2025, 9:53 am
Somaliland celebrates Israel recognition, but Trump says he won’t follow suit for now
‘Does anyone know what Somaliland is?’ Trump asks; Israeli step provokes outrage in African Union and Palestinian Authority
By ToI Staff and AFP
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) speaks with Mossad chief David Barnea at the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv on October 15, 2023. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)
March 28, 2025, 9:16 pm
Netanyahu said to task Mossad with finding countries to house Gazans
With Trump’s focus elsewhere, report says Israel has reached out to Sudan, Somalia, Indonesia and other nations about taking in Palestinians but the outreach has yet to bear fruit
By ToI Staff
People gather to collect water in Khartoum, Sudan, May 28, 2023. (Marwan Ali/AP)
March 14, 2025, 11:09 am
Israel and US said in contact with Sudan, Somalia about resettling Gazans
Officials say approaches also made to breakaway region of Somaliland; Sudanese, Somali and Somaliland officials says proposal rejected
By AP and ToI Staff
Displaced Palestinians walk through a muddy road amid the destruction in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on February 6, 2025. (Bashar Taleb / AFP)
February 7, 2025, 4:33 pm
Reports: Morocco, 2 disputed Somalia regions considered as destinations for Gazans
Somaliland and Puntland named as locations under discussion for Gazan relocation per Trump’s plans; Israeli official says any talk of destinations is ‘extremely premature’
By ToI Staff
Relatives carry the body of a woman killed during an attack in Mogadishu on August 3, 2024. (Hassan Ali Elmi/AFP)
August 3, 2024, 12:13 pm
At least 32 killed in Islamist suicide bombing, shooting attack on busy Mogadishu beach
Al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group, claims responsibility for attack on popular Lido beach area; police kill five gunmen in addition to suicide bomber
By AFP
Hundreds of newly trained al-Shabaab fighters perform military exercises in the Lafofe area some 18 kilometers south of Mogadishu, Somalia. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)
December 25, 2022, 1:58 pm
14 fishermen return to Iran years after kidnapping by Somalia’s Al-Shabaab
Men welcomed in a special ceremony at Tehran airport, some as many as 8 years after their abduction in international waters
By AFP
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