MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Somalia has formally thrown its weight behind a Saudi-engineered coalition designed to shield the Red Sea’s arteries of global trade from Houthi attacks, aligning itself with a bloc of nations racing to contain an escalation between Yemen’s Iran-backed movement and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Wararka Soomaaliya
The announcement lands just weeks after President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud cautioned the breakaway northern region of Somaliland against entangling itself in the widening Houthi-Israel confrontation, warning that any such move would carry dire consequences for both the region and Somalia at large.
A Coalition Takes Shape in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense announced on Thursday that it had convened chiefs of staff and senior military representatives to advance the Kingdom’s initiative to stand up a multinational defensive maritime coalition against the Houthis – a bloc Riyadh intends to lead and headquarter on its own soil.
Faahfaahinta
According to the ministry’s statement, the gathering drew participation from 43 countries out of 51 formally invited, alongside a delegation representing the European Union, with attendance split between in-person representation and video conferencing. Saudi officials described the turnout as evidence of “growing international interest in enhancing defensive maritime cooperation” and stressed the need to “unify efforts to confront common threats” to international shipping lanes falling within th
Delegates worked through the architecture of the emerging bloc, reviewing a draft charter, supporting reference documents, and the coalition’s proposed organizational structure, command-and-control arrangements, and operational mechanisms. The stated objective, per the ministry, is to build “an effective institutional framework” capable of confronting shared maritime threats across three of the world’s most strategically sensitive waterways: the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of
Participants agreed that military planners from nations wishing to join would continue working through the coming phase to finalize the charter, complete the organizational and command framework, and stand up the technical teams needed to operationalize the alliance – running in parallel with each willing country’s domestic ratification procedures ahead of a formal signing and launch.
Saamaynta
Somalia Among 14 Founding Signatories
In a significant outcome of the Riyadh meeting, 14 countries issued a joint statement declaring their backing for the coalition and welcoming the consensus reached on its foundational arrangements. Somalia stands among them, alongside Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Sudan, and Djibouti.
The Saudi Ministry of Defense noted that additional participating nations voiced support for the initiative as well, and are now working through internal procedures before formally joining the statement – with the door left open to them, and to any other willing country, once national approval processes are complete.
Wararka.so waxay kuu soo tebineysaa wararka ugu dambeeyey ee Soomaaliya iyo caalamka. Si aad ula socoto wararkii ugu dambeeyey, booqo boggayaga.
