Yemen’s Houthi Group Vows To Target Any Israeli Presence In Breakaway Somaliland

SANAA (Yemen), June 26 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- Yemen’s Houthi group vowed Thursday to target any Israeli presence in Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland, Anadolu Ajansi reported, citing local broadcaster.

"We are closely monitoring developments in Somaliland and the enemy's attempts to transform it into a foothold to control the Gulf of Aden, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Red Sea," Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said in a televised speech carried by the group’s Al-Masirah television.

He called on the Islamic nation and countries bordering the Red Sea "to take a unified stance to prevent the enemy from achieving this".

"Yemen will neither stand idly in the face of any Israeli presence in Somaliland, nor will it wait for those who fail to act," he said. "The Houthi group will take the initiative, whenever the enemy establishes any presence, to target it by all available means."

He also called on governments to "reform the situation in Somalia, care for the brotherly Somali people, and support them in confronting the Israeli enemy's aggression".

Last week, Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi opened the breakaway region’s embassy in Jerusalem during his visit to Israel.

Israel recognised Somaliland as an independent sovereign state in late December 2025, triggering a massive wave of condemnation.

Somaliland, which has lacked official recognition since declaring independence from Somalia in 1991, operates as a de facto independent administrative, political, and security entity.

Mogadishu refuses to recognise Somaliland as an independent state, considers it an integral part of its territory, and views any direct deals or engagement with it as a violation of Somalia’s sovereignty and unity.

-- BERNAMA-ANADOLU