Editor Saed Ibrahim reminds the world: When Siyad Barre was massacring Somalilanders, Israel was the lone voice of justice at the UN.
Editor Saed Ibrahim reminds the world: When Siyad Barre was massacring Somalilanders, Israel was the lone voice of justice at the UN.
In an explosive i24 interview, Saed Ibrahim says Somaliland’s independence bid isn’t about Gaza—but about justice, democracy, and a decades-long history of betrayal by the world. Only Israel spoke out when it mattered.
When Somali dictator Siyad Barre launched airstrikes on Hargeisa and slaughtered tens of thousands of Isaaq civilians in 1988, the world said nothing. Except for one nation—Israel. Now, in a stunning televised interview with i24 News, Somaliland Chronicle editor Saed Ibrahim is reminding the world of that painful truth, and why Somaliland deserves justice, recognition, and respect—on its own terms.
“Only Israel raised its voice at the UN when our people were being massacred,” Ibrahim said. That haunting fact, largely forgotten in Western capitals, has re-emerged in the context of Somaliland’s rising diplomatic visibility and fierce insistence that its bid for independence has nothing to do with Gaza.
As Ibrahim made crystal clear: Somaliland is not a pawn in the Israel–Palestine conflict. “There are no talks with anyone regarding Palestinians,” Foreign Minister Abdirahman Dahir Adan confirmed. There are no deals. No side games. The recognition Somaliland seeks is based solely on its own record—three decades of stability, democracy, functioning institutions, and peace.
Yet the irony is glaring. While global powers trip over each other to fund Somalia—a failed state still harboring ties to terror groups like al-Shabaab—Somaliland remains blocked, punished, and ignored for choosing stability. For daring to walk a democratic path. For surviving.
Ibrahim’s interview wasn’t just a media appearance. It was a callout. A demand. A reminder that Somaliland regained its independence from Somalia over 34 years ago and has since built what most African countries can only dream of: a peaceful democracy with its own currency, army, constitution, and civil society. What it doesn’t have is a seat at the UN. Why? Because the world still pretends Somalia owns it.
What makes this story unique, and incendiary, is that it exposes the cowardice of the global diplomatic elite. When it mattered most, only Israel spoke up. When the bombs fell, only Israel raised the alarm. And now, when Somaliland asks for recognition, most of the world looks the other way—unless there’s a Palestinian bargain attached.
