Somalia: Somaliland Willing to Send Up to 2,000 Troops to Gaza Force, President Says

What the report says

Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi said in Washington on Wednesday that the self-declared state would be willing to send as many as 2,000 troops to a planned International Stabilization Force for Gaza, but only if the United States or Israel formally asked. His comments came during an interview on the sidelines of the MEAD conference, according to Shabelle Media Network as republished by AllAfrica.

The report said the force is expected to be US-led and could eventually include about 20,000 personnel. Its proposed duties include security, training Palestinian police, supporting humanitarian aid delivery and preventing Hamas from regaining military control. Other countries mentioned as contributors include Uganda, Morocco, Albania, Kazakhstan and Kosovo. Abdullahi said Somaliland has a military of roughly 25,000 and a coast guard of about 1,500, and noted that it has not previously sent troops to an African Union mission.

The article also placed the remarks in the wider context of Somaliland’s push for international recognition and closer ties with Israel and the United States. It said Israel formally recognized Somaliland in December, and that Abdullahi has discussed security cooperation and recognition with US officials. The report added that these developments have heightened tensions with Somalia and with Turkey, which opposes recognition of Somaliland’s independence and maintains a major military and political role in Mogadishu. More broadly, Somaliland continues to seek wider diplomatic acceptance while facing long-running disputes over its status as part of Somalia.