# Somaliland

> **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou.
>
> Cite as: "Somaliland," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/somali-land/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*Self-declared breakaway state in the Horn of Africa that Israel became the only country in the world to recognize as independent, gaining a military base positioned roughly 30 seconds' flight time from Yemen; John Kiriakou, who visited Somaliland while posted with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Djibouti, describes it as a functioning city of about 100,000 unconnected to Mogadishu, al-Shabaab, or piracy.*

- **Location:** Horn of Africa, breakaway from Somalia
- **Recognition:** Recognized as independent by Israel — the only country to do so
- **Israeli military base:** Roughly 30 seconds' flight time from Yemen
- **Per Kiriakou:** A functioning city of about 100,000 people, unconnected to Mogadishu, al-Shabaab, or piracy

**Somaliland** is a self-declared breakaway state in the Horn of Africa. [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou) says Israel became the only country in the world to recognize it as independent, in exchange gaining a military base positioned about 30 seconds' flight time from Yemen — allowing it to strike the Houthis.[1]

## A personal visit from Djibouti

Kiriakou says he personally visited Somaliland while posted with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Djibouti. The U.S. ambassador to Djibouti invited him along on a drive to Somaliland with the defense attaché and chief of security; Kiriakou says he was surprised to find a genuinely functioning city of about 100,000 people with real infrastructure — a place with nothing to do with Mogadishu, al-Shabaab, or piracy, populated simply by people seeking international recognition.[2]

## The ambassador's private view

On the drive back to Djibouti, Kiriakou asked the ambassador what he thought of an independent Somaliland. The ambassador told him that, if it were up to him, he would recognize the territory — not as "Somaliland," but as the legitimate government of Somalia itself, since Somalia had lacked any functioning government for decades. Kiriakou says the ambassador did not expect that recognition would ever actually happen.[3]

## See also

- [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou)
- [MOSSAD](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/mossad)

## Sources

1. Venezuela, Cuba, Greenland, Iran — Empire in Plain Sight (2026-01-09), at 48:50. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbvuY-IqXvQ&t=2930s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-01-09-unfiltered-with-s-a-m/
2. Venezuela, Cuba, Greenland, Iran — Empire in Plain Sight (2026-01-09), at 49:20. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbvuY-IqXvQ&t=2960s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-01-09-unfiltered-with-s-a-m/
3. Venezuela, Cuba, Greenland, Iran — Empire in Plain Sight (2026-01-09), at 49:50. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbvuY-IqXvQ&t=2990s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-01-09-unfiltered-with-s-a-m/

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From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/somali-land/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt