Somaliland offers 2,000 troops for Gaza stabilization force if requested

Somaliland's president arrived in Washington with a quiet offer: if the United States or Israel asked, his territory could field up to 2,000 soldiers for the International Stabilization Force being assembled for Gaza. Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi made the statement on the sidelines of the MEAD conference, careful to frame it not as a volunteer commitment but as a readiness to respond if called upon. The distinction mattered. Somaliland, a self-declared independent state that has spent 35 years seeking recognition, was signaling its willingness to be part of something larger—and to be asked.

The Gaza stabilization force itself is taking shape across multiple continents. Uganda has already approved roughly 1,200 troops. Morocco committed 500. Albania, Kazakhstan, and Kosovo have pledged personnel as well. The full force is expected to eventually reach 20,000 soldiers, tasked with maintaining security in Gaza, training Palestinian police, managing humanitarian corridors, and preventing Hamas from rebuilding its military apparatus. Somaliland's potential contribution would add meaningful capacity to that effort, though the territory's own military footprint is modest by comparison—an army of approximately 25,000 soldiers and a coast guard of some 1,500 personnel.

What makes Somaliland's offer noteworthy is the context in which it arrives. In December, Israel became the first country in the world to formally recognize Somaliland as an independent state, ending three and a half decades of international isolation. The move was consequential enough that Somaliland opened its first formally designated embassy anywhere in Jerusalem in June, during Abdullahi's inaugural official visit to Israel. The recognition has already reshaped how the territory is perceived globally. Abdullahi noted that the word Somaliland now appears in major languages across the world—in Indian, Arabic, Chinese—a visibility that seemed impossible just months earlier. For a leader whose country has spent decades asking the world to "see us," the shift is tangible.

But recognition has come with a price. Somalia, which still claims Somaliland as part of its own territory, views Israel's move as a violation of its sovereignty. Turkey, one of Mogadishu's closest military and economic partners, has been even more forceful in its opposition. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the recognition illegitimate and accused Israel of destabilizing the Horn of Africa. Turkey operates a military base in Mogadishu, trains Somali forces, has supplied armed drones, and is exploring for oil and gas off the Somali coast. After Israel's recognition of Somaliland, Turkey deployed F-16 fighter jets to Somalia, a visible escalation of its military commitment to the region. Abdullahi acknowledged the trade-off plainly: "There is no free lunch. Everything has some negative and some positive. We created new enemies."

The security implications are concrete. Somalia's president and defense minister have publicly discussed invading Somaliland. Abdullahi said his territory has sufficient manpower to defend itself but lacks the advanced weapons and technology needed to counter a serious military threat. He is now seeking assistance from Israel, the United States, and other allies to "balance the situation." While he denied that Israeli or American forces currently operate in Somaliland, he left open the possibility of a foreign military presence in the near future, suggesting it could provide both balance and deterrence. He also pushed back against reports that Somaliland had discussed accepting Palestinians from Gaza or allowing Israel to use its territory for operations against the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, saying neither topic had come up in conversations with Israel, the Americans, or anyone else.

Abdullahi is scheduled to meet with members of Congress next week, including Senator Ted Cruz, who has been one of Somaliland's most vocal advocates in Washington and has called for formal US recognition. The president said he has no concrete promise of American recognition to point to, but he and his government have discussed both recognition and security cooperation with US officials. "We are optimistic," he said. The coming weeks will test whether that optimism is warranted—whether the Gaza stabilization force actually materializes in the form being discussed, whether Congress moves on recognition, and whether the military balance Abdullahi is seeking can be achieved before regional tensions boil over.