Protests draw largest turnout of Somalis since Israel's recognition of Somaliland

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Tens of thousands of Somalis gathered across the country Tuesday to protest Israel’s recognition of the breakaway region of Somaliland, a move condemned by more than 20 countries as an attack on the East African nation's sovereignty.

Meanwhile, Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud arrived in Turkey on Tuesday for talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, following Israel’s announcement.

At a U.N. Security Council emergency meeting Monday, Somalia protested the recognition saying it poses regional security issues. The Israeli representative decried those comments as a double standard because other nations have recognized Palestine as a state. The U.S. special representative said the country’s position on Somalia remains unchanged.

Last week, Israel became the first country to recognize Somaliland, drawing strong condemnation from Turkey — already at odds with Israel over the war in Gaza — as well as from Somalia and other nations.

Somaliland, a territory of more than 3 million people in the Horn of Africa, declared independence from Somalia in 1991 during a period of conflict that left the country fragile. Despite having its own government and currency, Somaliland had never been recognized by any nation until Friday.

In the Somali capital, Mogadishu, crowds gathered at the main stadium for a rally led by prominent religious figures who condemned Israel’s recognition and called for unity in defense of Somalia’s territorial integrity.

Similar protests were reported in Baidoa in the southwest, Guriel and Dhusamareeb in central Somalia, and Lasanod and Buhoodle in the northeast. Protesters in those towns chanted slogans rejecting the recognition and waved Somali flags, according to residents and video footage shared online.

The combined protests marked the largest turnout of protesters since Israel’s declaration.

At the Mogadishu rally, traditional leader Mohamed Hassan Haad called on Somalis to oppose the recognition and warned against any attempts to claim Somali territory, urging people in Somaliland to reject the move.

Religious scholar Sheikh Mohamud Sheikh Abulbari also condemned Israel’s decision, describing it as unacceptable and saying it was wrong to welcome Israel into any part of Somalia, citing Israel’s actions toward Palestinians and Muslims at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Somalia’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Abukar Dahir Osman protested the recognition at the Security Council meeting Monday. “Israel’s action not only sets a dangerous precedent but also poses a serious threat to regional and international peace and security,” he told the council.

In Istanbul on Tuesday, Mohamud expressed gratitude to regional and international institutions that opposed Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, describing it as a violation of international law, the United Nations Charter, the African Union’s principles, and established diplomatic norms.

“This sets a dangerous precedent that is contrary to the principle of sovereignty and territorial integrity, and non-interference that underpins in all international systems,” Mohamud said, standing alongside Erdogan.

“Such actions are creating conditions that embolden violent extremist groups who thrive on narratives of external interference,” Mohamud said. “The result is cascading insecurity for Somalia and the wider region of the Horn of Africa already strained by armed violent, humanitarian pressures and political fragility”

Erdogan expressed strong support for Somalia’s unity and integrity and condemned Israel’s decision to recognize Somaliland as “illegitimate and unacceptable.”

“The preservation of Somalia’s unity and integrity under all circumstances is a priority for us,” Erdogan said, accusing Israel of attempting to drag the Horn of Africa into instability.

Turkey has become one of Somalia’s closest allies over the past decade, providing military training and supporting infrastructure projects. It operates a military base in Mogadishu, where Somali forces are trained, and has dispatched a seismic research vessel — escorted by naval ships — to survey Somalia’s coast for potential oil and gas reserves. Erdogan said Turkey plans to begin drilling operations in Somalia in 2026.

Ankara has called Israel's move unlawful and warned it could destabilize the fragile balance in the Horn of Africa. The reasons behind Israel’s declaration remain unclear.

Earlier in 2025, Turkey hosted talks between Ethiopia and Somalia to address tensions sparked by a deal between Ethiopia and Somaliland.

In January 2024, Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding with Somaliland to lease land along its coastline for a naval base. In return, Ethiopia pledged to recognize Somaliland’s independence — a step Somalia says violates its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Amiri reported from New York. Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed.

Hundreds of Somalis protest Israel's recognition of Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland as an independent nation, the first by any country in more than 30 years, in Mogadishu, Somalia, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, left, shakes hands with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan following a news conference in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

People raise Somalia's flag as they protest Israel's recognition of Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland as an independent nation, in Mogadishu, Somalia, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

Hundreds of Somalis gather at the Mogadishu stadium as they protest Israel's recognition of Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland as an independent nation, in Mogadishu, Somalia, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

A man holds the flag of Somalia as people gather at the Mogadishu stadium while they protest Israel's recognition of Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland as an independent nation, in Mogadishu, Somalia, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

More artists have canceled scheduled performances at the Kennedy Center following the addition of President Donald Trump’s name to the facility, with jazz supergroup The Cookers pulling out of a planned New Year's Eve concert, and the institution's president saying the cancellations belie the artists' unwillingness to see their music as crossing lines of political disparity.

The fresh round of cancellations after Trump put his name on the building follows an earlier artist backlash in spring. After Trump ousted the Kennedy Center board and named himself the institution's chairman in February, performer Issa Rae and the producers of “Hamilton” cancelled scheduled engagements while musicians Ben Folds and Renee Flaming stepped down from advisory roles.

The Cookers, a jazz supergroup performing together for nearly two decades, announced their withdrawal from “A Jazz New Year’s Eve" on their website, saying the “decision has come together very quickly" and acknowledging frustration from those who may have planned to attend.

The group didn't mention the building's renaming or the Trump administration but did say that, when they return to performing, they wanted to ensure that “the room is able to celebrate the full presence of the music and everyone in it,” reiterating a commitment “to playing music that reaches across divisions rather than deepening them.”

The group may not have addressed the Kennedy Center situation directly, but one of its members has. On Saturday, saxophone player Billy Harper said in comments posted on the Jazz Stage Facebook page that he “would never even consider performing in a venue bearing a name (and being controlled by the kind of board) that represents overt racism and deliberate destruction of African American music and culture. The same music I devoted my life to creating and advancing.”

According to the White House, Trump’s handpicked board approved the renaming. Harper said both the board, "as well as the name displayed on the building itself represents a mentality and practices I always stood against. And still do, today more than ever.”

Richard Grenell, a Trump ally whom the president chose to head the Kennedy Center after he forced out the previous leadership, posted Monday night on X that “The artists who are now canceling shows were booked by the previous far left leadership,” intimating the bookings were made under the Biden administration.

In a statement to The Associated Press, Grenell said Tuesday the ”last minute cancellations prove that they were always unwilling to perform for everyone — even those they disagree with politically," adding that the Kennedy Center had been “flooded with inquiries from real artists willing to perform for everyone and who reject political statements in their artistry.”

There was no immediate word from Kennedy Center officials if the entity would pursue legal action against the group, as Grenell said it would after musician Chuck Redd canceled a Christmas Eve performance. Following that withdrawal, in which Redd cited the Kennedy Center renaming, Grenell said he would seek $1 million in damages for what he called a “political stunt.”

President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, and Congress passed a law the following year naming the center as a living memorial to him. Scholars have said any changes to the building's name would need congressional approval; the law explicitly prohibits the board of trustees from making the center into a memorial to anyone else, and from putting another person’s name on the building’s exterior.

Associated Press writers Steven Sloan and Hillel Italie contributed to this report.

Workers add President Donald Trump's name to the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, after a Trump-appointed board voted to rename the institution, in Washington, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Demonstrators, including Nadine Siler, of Waldorf, Md., dressed in a pink frog costume, hold up signs at a designated protest point in front of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, a day after a Trump-appointed board voted to add President Donald Trump's name to the Kennedy Center, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

New signage, The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center For The Performing Arts, is unveiled on the Kennedy Center, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)