Israel has named Michael Lotem, a former ambassador to Kenya, as its first envoy to Somaliland (a self-declared breakaway republic in northern Somalia that has sought international recognition since 1991), deepening a partnership that began in December when Israel became the first country to formally recognise the territory. Somalia's foreign ministry condemned the appointment as a "direct breach" of its sovereignty, while the broader move has drawn criticism from the UN Security Council, the African Union, and the European Union. The rapidly expanding relationship has raised alarm in Mogadishu over the possibility of an Israeli military presence on Somaliland's coast, which lies directly across the Gulf of Aden from Houthi-controlled Yemen — a concern that Somaliland officials have declined to fully dismiss.