EXCLUSIVE<\/p>\n
In exclusive Al Jazeera interview, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud says attempts to pull Somalia into Middle East crises won\u2019t succeed.<\/p>\n
Somalia will not accept Israeli presence in the country \u201cunder any circumstances\u201d and will resist any attempts to be pulled into the Middle East\u2019s crises, its President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud tells Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n
Speaking in an exclusive interview,\u00a0Mohamud said that Israel was planning to establish a naval base in Berbera and use the city\u2019s airport, adding that its real aim was to get closer to the Gulf states and Iran.<\/p>\n
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Berbera is a port city on the Gulf of Aden coast in Somaliland \u2013 the self-declared republic in northwestern Somalia that Israel recognised last year, but which is claimed by Mogadishu.<\/p>\n
Berbera faces Yemen across the water near the strategic Bab al-Mandeb strait. The Iran-aligned Houthis have previously enforced a blockade on Israel-linked ships in the area.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will overcome the challenges posed to our country by Israeli moves,\u201d Mohamud said in his wide-ranging interview.<\/p>\n
He added that the Israeli plans fall under the \u201cGreater Israel<\/a>\u201d project \u2013 referring to a term for various proposals, often rooted in biblical interpretations, for Israeli control over territory beyond its current borders. Some versions extend from the Nile to the Euphrates.<\/p>\n Israel has not adopted it as official policy, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an August 2025 interview that he felt connected to the vision, prompting condemnation from Arab governments.<\/p>\n The Somali president described Israel as a \u201cdestabilising force\u201d that does not abide by international law.<\/p>\n He also criticised Tel Aviv\u2019s recognition<\/a>\u00a0of Somaliland in December.<\/p>\n No country other than Israel recognises Somaliland, while the region\u2019s own residents are completely opposed to an Israeli presence, Mohamud said.<\/p>\n Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 and has governed itself independently for more than three decades. But it\u00a0had not secured recognition from any United Nations member state until Israel\u2019s move.<\/p>\n Fight against armed groups<\/p>\n The Somali president told Al Jazeera the United States remains his country\u2019s strongest partner in the fight against \u201cterrorism\u201d, and added that al-Shabab<\/a> has no presence in the major cities, leaving no possibility of the group taking control in Somalia.<\/p>\n Al-Shabab is a Somali armed group that emerged from the Islamic Courts Union in the mid-2000s and pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda in 2012. It has fought Somalia\u2019s federal government for years, holds territory in parts of southern and central Somalia, and has carried out deadly attacks, including in Mogadishu and in neighbouring Kenya.<\/p>\n Regarding the East Africa region, Mohamud said Somalia\u2019s relations with neighbouring Ethiopia are good, and Mogadishu does not object to Addis Ababa gaining access to the sea through a joint agreement to use Somali ports for its economic interests.<\/p>\n Ethiopia has been landlocked since Eritrea became independent in 1993 and relies largely on Djibouti\u2019s ports for trade. In January 2024, Addis Ababa signed a memorandum of understanding with Somaliland on sea access, which Somalia condemned as a violation of its sovereignty. Somalia and Ethiopia later agreed to ease tensions.<\/p>\n Houthis \u2018destabilising\u2019 region<\/p>\n Mohamud also accused Yemen\u2019s Houthis of \u201cdestabilising\u201d the region and disrupting navigation in the Bab al-Mandeb strait.<\/p>\n His comments come as the group attempts to build on its lightning offensive that captured the country\u2019s Red Sea coast<\/a> last month.<\/p>\n Thus far, Yemeni government forces have been able to hold their positions on the front lines and even claimed to have inflicted heavy losses against the Houthis.<\/p>\n