Sawt Falasteen - Somaliland, where Muslims love Israel

Israel became the only country in the world to recognise Somaliland's independence in December -- something the territory has been seeking since declaring its autonomy from Somalia in 1991.

As Ramadan started this week in the deeply Muslim territory, almost all its citizens -- young and old, men and women -- were happy to sing Israel's praises.

While most of the Muslim world focuses on allegations of genocide and war crimes against the Palestinians, Somalilanders are more concerned with atrocities committed by Somalia during their war of independence in the 1980s, which, they say, no Muslim country has ever condemned.

In the central square of the capital Hargeisa, an old Soviet MiG sits atop a memorial -- one of the fighter jets used by Somalia's then-president Siad Barre's forces in a bombing campaign in 1988-89 that destroyed some 70 percent of the city.

"We were waiting for recognition for 35 years. This is the product of our grandparents who fought in the war," said Ahmed Abiib Ibrahim, a 20-year-old student in the square.

- 'Are Muslims helping us? No!' -

"It is the first Ramadan when the world knows us," added 22-year-old Muna Ali, finishing her day at a nearby travel agency.

"I love Israel so much," she said, smiling in her head-to-toe black abaya.

Filling his water tank at a petrol station outside the city, lorry driver Abdilrashiid Adam Jamac told AFP he now had an Israeli flag hanging in his home.

"I will think of Israel during Ramadan... The Jews are my friends. Are Muslims helping us? No!" he said.

Shortly after Somaliland's recognition at the end of December, social media was flooded with photos of men and women displaying the Israeli flag, one of them even using it as a hijab.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, on the other hand, denounced it as "the greatest violation of Somalia's sovereignty" and a "threat to the security and stability of the world and the region".

- Strategic battleground -

The government in Mogadishu still considers Somaliland an integral part of Somalia, even though the territory has run its own affairs since 1991, with its own passport, currency, army and police force.

Somaliland also stands out for its relative stability compared to the rest of the country, which has been plagued by Islamist insurgencies and clan conflicts for decades.

No Muslim country has followed Israel's lead for now, many fearing it could provoke secessionists in their own lands.

"Israel's recognition of Somaliland benefits neither Somaliland nor the Horn of Africa," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a visit to Ethiopia on Tuesday.

The Horn of Africa, situated between the Indian Ocean and the Suez Canal on one of the world's busiest trade routes, has become a strategic battleground for regional powers in the Gulf and beyond, forcing many to look beyond their previous concerns.

Many see the United Arab Emirates, which operates a major port in Berbera in Somaliland, as a key player behind Israel's recognition.

A Somaliland official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that Somalilanders had raised $2 million for Palestinians during last year's Ramadan, but they had to focus on their own concerns.

"Palestinians, we feel for them, but... it's our brothers from Somalia who want to kill us," he said.

K.AbuDahab--SF-PST