Large protests broke out in several towns and cities across Somalia on Tuesday in opposition to Israel's recognition of the breakaway region of Somaliland.
Israel announced on Friday that it viewed Somaliland -- which declared independence in 1991 but has never been recognized by any other country -- as an "independent and sovereign state".
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has condemned the move as a threat to stability in the Horn of Africa. He travelled Tuesday to Türkiye, a close ally, to discuss the situation, AFP reported.
Thousands of protesters marched through the streets of Somali capital Mogadishu and gathered at a stadium, waving placards with anti-Israeli slogans alongside Somali and Palestinian flags.
"We will never allow anyone to violate our sovereignty," one attendee, Adan Muhidin, told AFP, adding that Israel's move was "a blatant violation of international law".
Demonstrations also took place in Lascanod in the northeast, Guriceel in central Somalia, and Baidoa in the southwest.
"There is nothing we have in common with Israel. We say to the people of Somaliland, don't bring them close to you," said Sheikh Ahmed Moalim, a local religious leader, in Guriceel.
Somaliland has long been a haven of stability and democracy in the conflict-scarred country, with its own money, passport and army.
It also has a strategic position on the Gulf of Aden that makes it an attractive trade and military partner for regional and international allies.
But Israel's decision to recognize its statehood has brought rebukes from across the Muslim and African world, with many fearing it will stoke conflict and division.
There have been celebrations in Somaliland's capital Hargeisa, with the rare sight of Israeli flags being waved in a Muslim-majority nation.
