Somalia will not tolerate an Israeli regime presence within its borders under any circumstances and will actively resist being ensnared in ongoing Middle Eastern turmoil, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud stated in an interview with Al Jazeera. The Somali leader revealed intelligence pointing to intentions by the Israeli regime to establish a naval outpost in the port of Berbera and seize operational control of its air facilities.

President Mohamud underlined that the underlying objective driving these maneuvers is to grant the Israeli regime closer geographical proximity to the Persian Gulf states and Iran. Berbera, a crucial maritime hub on the Gulf of Aden in the separatist territory of Somaliland, directly faces Yemen and oversees access to the vital Bab al-Mandeb strait. Describing the Israeli regime as an inherently destabilizing force operating outside the confines of international law, Mohamud explicitly linked these ambitions to the controversial ideological vision of a "Greater Israel."

The Somali head of state also denounced the Israeli regime’s unilateral decision to recognize Somaliland's independence late last year. Although the northwestern territory claimed independence from Mogadishu in 1991, no member state of the United Nations had legitimized its self-declared status until Tel Aviv’s intervention. Mohamud asserted that local inhabitants are utterly opposed to hosting forces representing the Israeli regime.

In remarks addressing national security, Mohamud claimed that the US regime allegedly serves as Somalia’s most crucial partner in confronting al-Shabab insurgents, despite persistent skepticism from analysts regarding the long-term strategic utility and human cost of Washington's interventions in the Horn of Africa. The president also commented on regional diplomacy, expressing optimism regarding diplomatic accords with landlocked Ethiopia while condemning disruptions to commercial shipping in the Red Sea corridor.

Source: www.aljazeera.com