The leader of Yemen’s Houthi rebels, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, on Sunday issued a threat against Israel in the wake of its recognition of Somaliland.
In a statement, al-Houthi warned that any Israeli presence on Somali territory will be considered a military target.
“We will not agree to violations of Somalia’s sovereignty or to a security threat against us and against the Horn of Africa region in general,” he added.
Somaliland, which declared independence from Somalia in 1991, has enjoyed effective autonomy and relative peace and stability, but to date has failed to receive recognition from any other country besides Israel, which announced its recognition on Friday.
Al-Shabaab, the Somalia-based, Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist organization, vowed on Saturday to fight any attempt by Israel “to claim or use parts of Somaliland” following its recognition of the breakaway territory.
“We will not accept it, and we will fight against it,” the group said in a statement.
The terrorist organization said Israel’s recognition of Somaliland as a sovereign state showed it “has decided to expand into parts of the Somali territories” to support “the apostate administration in the northwest regions.”
Somalia, January’s president of the UN Security Council, on Saturday requested an urgent session on the issue of Israel's recognition of Somaliland. The discussion is expected to take place on Monday.
The Houthis have repeatedly attacked Israel with missiles and drones since the start of the war in Gaza, though they halted those attacks when the US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza went into effect in October.