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According to a senior Somali government source, this move by the Mogadishu government covers all agreements concluded with government institutions, relevant organizations, and regional administrations.

The government document states: “The Council of Ministers has terminated all existing agreements between the Federal Government of Somalia and the Government of the United Arab Emirates, including bilateral security and defense cooperation agreements.”

“This decision was taken in response to reports and strong evidence of serious steps taken to undermine the country’s sovereignty, national unity, and political independence,” it says.

Issues of Somali sovereignty and territorial integrity have become increasingly urgent in recent weeks as the UAE and its regional ally Israel have drawn closer to Somaliland, the separatist region of Somalia that has its own government.

On December 26, Israel became the first country in the world to officially recognize the sovereignty of Somaliland, which is home to the strategically vital port city of Berbera on the coast of the Gulf of Aden.

Berbera, one of the ports named in the Somali government document, was at the center of a series of striking and interrelated developments last week.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar visited the city as part of his first official Israeli visit to Somaliland following its formal recognition. During the visit, Saar said, “Unlike Palestine, Somaliland is not a virtual state,” describing the former British colony as “pro-Western and friendly to Israel.”

Talks between Israel and Somaliland also discussed a proposal for an Israeli military base in Berbera, which is already part of a chain of bases in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden currently controlled by the UAE.