Somalia's Stance on Israeli Presence

Geographically, we won't go far, to Somalia, where

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said

his country would under no circumstances accept

an Israeli presence in Somalia in the way it is approaching Somaliland.

In remarks to the interview program with colleague Ali Al-Dhafiri,

the Somali president stressed that any attempt to move Middle East crises to

Somalia would fail, and that Mogadishu would overcome

the challenge posed by Israeli moves.

This is an extremely difficult situation for Somalia, and we have not accepted

it,

nor will we accept, under any circumstances, Israel's presence in

Somalia

in the way it is approaching Somaliland.

We have many challenges. At times, a country seized

part of our territorial waters, and we recovered them through international

law.

On another occasion, another country said it would take another part of

Somalia's territory to gain access to the sea. We discussed the matter with it

and told it no.

This time, too, I believe we will overcome

this challenge posed by Israel.