That goal, say Somaliland sources, has never been closer amid signs that the US president, Donald Trump, could be the first leader to recognise the self-declared republic in return for building a military base near the port of Berbera, a strategic location on the Gulf of Aden.

A key US military base, Camp Lemonnier, is located in neighbouring Djibouti but concern is growing over Chinese influence there as Beijing continues to strengthen its ties with Africa.

Project 2025, the alleged blueprint for the second Trump presidency, proposes the recognition of Somaliland as a “hedge against the US’s deteriorating position in Djibouti”.

  • BombOmOm
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    1 month ago

    Somalia failed due to a number of factors: Starting with a coup that created the socialist Somali Democratic Republic which then launched a failed invasion of Ethiopia. Ethiopian resistance, mass migration caused by the invasion, poorly distributed food aid, and harsh government crackdowns led to a civil war the country has yet to recover from. UN and US interventions in the civil war unfortunately didn’t solve the problem either.

    Eventually, out of this civil war emerged two countries: Somaliland and Somalia. One of these is half-way functioning democracy today and is an obvious choice to recognize and stabilize the region. The alternative is to force Somaliland to fail and have that region fall back into civil war too.

    • IndustryStandardOP
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      1 month ago

      Any place which believes it can legitimize itself by becoming an American military base is fake and objectively worse.

      • BombOmOm
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        1 month ago

        Any place which believes it can legitimize itself by becoming an American military base is fake and objectively worse.

        What are you talking about? Somaliland doesn’t have any US military bases. Somalia certainly does though at Baledogle Airfield.

        Should we recognize Somaliland and not Somalia since Somalia has a US military base, unlike Somaliland?

        • IndustryStandardOP
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          1 month ago

          They are trying to become a country by being a US military base.

          A small water based cut out with 5 million people.

          Balkanizing Africa is only good for divide and conquer.