Somaliland says the strategic maritime assets in Berbera on the Gulf of Aden are under its jurisdiction
Somaliland has rejected an attempt by Somalia to grant the US exclusive control of the ports and airbases in the breakaway territory’s main coastal city of Berbera, calling the move a “foolish interference” in its internal affairs.
Somaliland declared its independence from Somalia in 1991, following the overthrow of Somali military ruler Siad Barre and a decade-long civil war. While not internationally recognized as a country, the territory on the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden has since established its own government, security structures, and currency. However, Somalia continues to regard the province as its territory.
Last Friday, Reuters reported that Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud had written to his US counterpart, Donald Trump, offering to give Washington authority over bases in Balidogle and Berbera, as well as the Berbera and Bosaso ports.
“These strategically positioned assets provide an opportunity to bolster American engagement in the region, ensuring uninterrupted military and logistical access while preventing external competitors from establishing a presence in this critical corridor,” the letter, dated March 16 said, according to the outlet.
On Sunday, Somaliland’s president, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, also known as Cirro, said the “assets in question are under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Somaliland, which is an independent sovereign state.”
“Our strategic assets in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden are integral to our national security and economic stability, and any suggestion to the contrary is a clear political desperate attempt devoid of factual basis,” Cirro’s spokesperson said in a statement.
The self-proclaimed republic had hoped that Trump would support the region’s push for statehood. Late last year, Bashir Goth, Hargeisa’s representative in Washington, told TASS that Somaliland is willing to host a US military base “if it serves the common interests of our two countries.”
The seaport in Berbera has been the source of a year-long standoff between Ethiopia and Somalia, which both parties only recently agreed to resolve. In January of last year, the de facto independent state struck a major deal with Ethiopia to lease 20km (12 miles) of coastline to the landlocked state for commercial purposes and to build a marine base—reportedly in exchange for Somaliland being recognized as a country. The agreement sparked tensions with Somalia, which accused Ethiopia of aggression and undermining Somali territorial integrity through the “illegal” Red Sea access pact.
Following talks mediated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in December, Addis Ababa and Mogadishu have made efforts to mend their strained relations and are negotiating an agreement that would safeguard Somalia’s territorial integrity while also granting Ethiopia access to the sea.
