Somaliland fumes over Turkish envoy's meeting with rebel figure: What to know
As diplomatic tensions flare between Ankara and Hargeisa after a Turkish envoy met a rebel figure in Mogadishu, Ankara is downplaying the encounter as circumstantial.
ANKARA — Somaliland has accused Turkey of interference over a meeting between a Turkish envoy and a rebel leader from the breakaway region, further straining ties between the two as Ankara continues to advocate for Somalia's territorial integrity.
Tensions between Ankara and Hargeisa rose after a meeting in Mogadishu last week between Turkey’s ambassador to Somalia, Alper Aktas, and Sultan Wabar, a former rebel linked to an armed insurgency against the Somaliland government. Wabar, an influential tribal leader from Somaliland’s Awdal region, led a brief armed insurrection in 2015, accusing the government of marginalizing the region and pushing for Somaliland's reunification with Somalia.
In a strongly worded statement on Monday, Somaliland’s foreign minister accused Turkey of “unacceptable interference,” demanding an immediate explanation.
“The meeting undermines the principle of non-interference, damages mutual respect between Somaliland and [Turkey] and contributes to further instability in the Horn of Africa,” the statement read.
