The leader of Yemen’s Ansarallah, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, confirmed on 25 June that Sanaa “will not stand idly by” as zionist regime establishes a military presence in the breakaway region of Somaliland.
Houthi said that Ansarallah is following with “great interest” the developments in Somaliland, including Israeli efforts to control the Gulf of Aden and the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Somaliland lies on the strategic Horn of Africa, facing Yemen across the Red Sea. The zionist entity aims to gain access to Somaliland territory to extend its influence and contest the Ansarallah-led Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) for dominance over the region’s waterways.
In a speech delivered to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussein in 680 CE, Houthi warned that the YAF could target Israel’s presence in Somaliland at any time.
He noted ongoing coordination with the movement’s allies regarding a possible new confrontation, stressing that Yemen “will not hesitate to do its duty in any new escalation of aggression in any arena.”
Ansarallah is closely allied with Iran, Hezbollah, and the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, collectively known as the Axis of Resistance.
In November 2023, Yemen’s armed forces closed the Bab al-Mandab Strait to the zionist regime, the US, and British-linked ships, targeting them with missiles and drones, in response to the genocide in Gaza.
Yemeni forces also confronted the US and European navies in the Red Sea, forcing their ignominious retreat.
Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 and has enjoyed autonomy from Mogadishu without international recognition since that time.
In December 2025, the zionist regime became the first UN member state to recognize Somaliland’s claim to independence. Mogadishu rejected the zionist move, calling it a violation of Somalia’s sovereignty.
This week, reports surfaced indicating that the entity covertly sent a small group of forces to Somaliland earlier in the year.
“According to our intelligence reports, the Israeli military selected zionist soldiers of African heritage, especially Ethiopians, so as not to draw attention to themselves and to blend in more easily with the local community,” a senior Somali official revealed.
On 17 June, zionist Defense Minister Israel Katz admitted to years of clandestine, “under the radar” security operations with Somaliland.
Earlier this month, Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi visited the zionist entity for the first time, marking the opening of a diplomatic mission for the territory in Tel Aviv.
During talks with zionist leaders, Abdullahi discussed the possibility of allowing the regime to establish a military base on Somaliland territory.