Mogadishu Fractures as Somaliland-Origin Officials Back Israel’s Recognition

MOGADISHU MELTDOWN: CABINET SPLITS AS SOMALILAND-ORIGIN OFFICIALS DEFY VILLA SOMALIA.

Mogadishu is spiraling into open political chaos after Israel’s recognition of Somaliland triggered a rare and public rupture inside Somalia’s federal government.

What began as diplomatic outrage has now exposed a deep internal fracture. Senior officials from southern Somalia launched coordinated attacks on social media, demanding that ministers and MPs of Somaliland origin publicly condemn Israel’s move. The response stunned Villa Somalia.

Instead of compliance, several Somaliland-origin officials openly rejected the demands — some even signaling support for Somaliland’s recognition — effectively blowing apart the long-maintained fiction of a unified Somali political front.

The fallout was immediate. The prime minister’s office issued emergency orders forcing cabinet members and MPs to delete inflammatory posts as the dispute spiraled out of control online. While the posts vanished, the damage did not. Sources inside Villa Somalia describe “panic, confusion, and total loss of discipline” at the top of government.

Unable to impose loyalty internally, Mogadishu has shifted to punitive measures. In late 2025, the federal government quietly tightened travel restrictions to Hargeisa, rolling out a restrictive e-Visa system widely viewed by diplomats as a de facto blockade against Somaliland — a move analysts say is likely to backfire as international engagement with Hargeisa accelerates.

Adding to the humiliation: Somalia’s own patrons are no longer aligned with Mogadishu’s position. The United Arab Emirates — a key financier of Somali security forces — is now among the countries openly discussing recognition of Somaliland, leaving Villa Somalia dependent on partners who are legitimizing the very state it denies exists.

The symbolism is devastating. When officials of Somaliland origin inside Mogadishu refuse to denounce Hargeisa — and instead quietly cheer its breakthroughs — the federal “unity” narrative collapses from within.

This is no longer a diplomatic dispute. It is an institutional breakdown unfolding in real time.