By Asha Elmi - Reporter
Somalia, 9 January 2026 President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud urged Somalis to reject hate speech and inflammatory rhetoric following Israel's controversial recognition of the breakaway region of Somaliland.
In a nationally televised address Thursday night responding to the diplomatic crisis triggered by Israel's purported recognition, Hassan Sheikh made a direct appeal for restraint as tensions escalate across the country.
"We must refrain from hate speech that revives the painful memories we have endured," the president said, addressing Somalis across the country and diaspora.
The warning comes as social media discourse around Israel's recognition of Somaliland has grown increasingly heated, with commentators using inflammatory language that references Somalia's civil war era and clan-based grievances.
Hassan Sheikh's call for restraint appears aimed at preventing the diplomatic crisis from morphing into renewed intercommunal tensions. Somalia's experience with military dictatorship, civil war, and clan conflict remains raw, particularly regarding events in northern regions during the 1980s.
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The president acknowledged those historical wounds in his speech, saying his government "takes responsibility" for atrocities committed by the military regime against northern populations. But he emphasized that reconciliation requires avoiding rhetoric that deepens divisions.
"Dialogue and understanding remain the only viable path forward," he said, urging both federal government supporters and Somaliland sympathizers to lower the temperature.
The appeal for unity comes as Hassan Sheikh attempts to navigate a delicate balance: firmly rejecting Israel's recognition of Somaliland while keeping channels open for negotiations with Hargeisa's administration.
Israel's January 2 announcement recognizing Somaliland as independent has been rejected by Somalia's federal government, the African Union, Arab League, and most of the international community. The move has sparked outrage across Somalia and raised fears of instability in the Horn of Africa.
Hassan Sheikh's emphasis on avoiding hate speech suggests concern within the federal government that the crisis could be exploited to stoke intercommunal conflict—potentially undermining Somalia's fragile stability and complicating efforts at dialogue.
