The Times of Israel reports: “The leader of Yemen’s Houthi rebels warned that any Israeli presence in Somaliland would be considered a ‘military target,’ according to a statement from the Iran-backed group published Sunday.

‘We consider any Israeli presence in Somaliland a military target for our armed forces, as it constitutes aggression against Somalia and Yemen, and a threat to the security of the region,’ said the group’s chief Abdulmalik al-Houthi, according to a statement published by rebel media online.

Israel on Friday announced that it was officially recognizing Somaliland, a first for the self-proclaimed republic that in 1991 declared it had unilaterally separated from Somalia.

The Houthi chief warned that the move carried grave consequences, saying recognition was ‘a hostile stance targeting Somalia and its African surroundings, as well as Yemen, the Red Sea, and the countries along both shores of the Red Sea.’

Somaliland, which has for decades pushed for international recognition, enjoys a strategic position on the Gulf of Aden and has its own money, passport and army…”