ALBAWABA - In a controversial step in the newly forged relationship between Israel and Somaliland, new photos reveal a planned Israeli military base in Somaliland's Berbera Airport 260km from the coast of Yemen.
The base, which is still being built, will give Israel a foothold in the Gulf of Aden allowing it to directly confront Yemen's Houthis, while Somalia categorically rejects the building of an Israeli base on what it sees as its land.
Aerial photos of the base from nziv.net
"Somalia does not want to see its territory pulled into external confrontations or used in ways that could further destabilise an already sensitive region," Ali Omar, Somalia’s state minister for foreign affairs, told Al Jazeera.
Still, despite Somalia's protests, the project seems to go on full-speed ahead. Somaliland, who has declared independence from Somalia in 1991 was not recognized by any UN member-state until Israel granted them recognition in December of last year, the fruits of this recognition seem to paying off well for Tel-Aviv.
Aerial photos of the base from nziv.net
As the Houthis become within an arm's reach for Israel an informal alliance is forming called the 'Berbera Axis', consisting of Israel, Somaliland, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Somalia, which has not governed Somaliland for three decades, warns that building this base is a breach of their sovereignty, stating that: "Federal Government is the only authority empowered to enter into international security or military arrangements on behalf of the country. Any discussions about foreign military facilities on Somali territory that take place outside that framework simply have no legal standing,"
Aerial photos of the base from nziv.net
As the US-Iran war draws to an apparent close, and with no one to back Yemen's Houthis except Iran, will Yemen be the next place where Israeli bombs drop around the clock?
