HARGEISA (Somaliguardian) – Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh on Friday warned that the institution of an Israeli army base within the strategic port metropolis of Berbera would pose a direct menace to stability throughout the Horn of Africa.
In remarks to native media, Guelleh accused Israel of leveraging Somaliland’s decadeslong pursuit of worldwide recognition to safe a strategic foothold within the area. He stated he was deeply involved that authorities in Hargeisa might settle for geopolitical concessions in alternate for formal recognition of statehood.
Guelleh, a veteran chief who has dominated Djibouti since 1999, additionally delivered unusually blunt criticism of the United Arab Emirates, describing it as Israel’s main “gateway” into the Horn of Africa.
He asserted that the UAE is driving strategic realignments throughout the Horn and the Pink Sea that threat intensifying present conflicts. Guelleh additional alleged Emirati involvement in destabilizing dynamics in Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Chad and Libya.
Whereas distancing Djibouti from what he characterised as Emirati affect, Guelleh reaffirmed his authorities’s shut strategic alignment with Saudi Arabia. He famous that Djibouti continues to grant the dominion entry to army amenities, underscoring the nation’s longstanding function as a gatekeeper to one of many world’s most important maritime corridors.
Guelleh additionally described relations with Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi Irro as “chilly,” disclosing that his administration has declined conferences and high-level engagement with the brand new management in Hargeisa.
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