Israeli presence in Somaliland will be considered a “military target,” the leader of Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels warned on Sunday, in the latest condemnation of Israel's recognition of the breakaway region.
“We consider any Israeli presence in Somaliland a military target for our armed forces, as it constitutes aggression against Somalia and Yemen, and a threat to the security of the region,” said the group's chief Abdulmalik Al Houthi, according to a statement published by the group.
Israel announced on Friday that it had formally recognised Somaliland, a self-declared independent state in the Horn of Africa, on the coast of the Gulf of Aden, bordering Somalia and Djibouti.
The Houthi leader warned that the move carried consequences, saying recognition was “a hostile stance targeting Somalia and its African surroundings, as well as Yemen, the Red Sea, and the countries along both shores of the Red Sea”.
Somaliland's port city of Berbera could allow Israel better access to the Red Sea, a vital artery for commercial shippin
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