Unlike Somalia, which has been battling an Islamist insurgency for more than 17 years, Somaliland has mostly been at peace since declaring independence from the Mogadishu government in 1991.
But Somaliland is not recognised by any country and its government has expressed hope that US President Donald Trump will be favourable to its cause.
Somalia rejects any claim by Somaliland to be recognised as an independent state and says its sovereignty and territorial integrity are inviolable.
The White House and the US state department did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
### RECONSTRUCTION PLANS
The foreign ministry of Sudan, a country dealing with a devastating civil war, also did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
A senior Sudanese government official told Reuters that Sudan had not received such a proposal and that it would be unacceptable.
Arab leaders adopted a $53bn (R965.57bn) Egyptian reconstruction plan for Gaza that would avoid displacing Palestinians from the enclave, in contrast to Trump's vision of a ["Middle East Riviera"](https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/world/2025-02-27-watch-trump-faces-backlash-over-his-ai-video-of-gaza/).
Trump has proposed a US takeover of the Gaza Strip to reconstruct the enclave, wrecked by fighting since October 2023, after earlier suggesting that Palestinians should be permanently displaced. Trump's plan reinforced long-standing Palestinian fears of being permanently driven from their homes, and was widely rejected internationally.
Asked about the AP report, Michele Zaccheo, UN spokesperson in Geneva, said: "Any plan that could or would lead to the forced displacement of people or any type of ethnic cleansing is something that we would obviously be against, as it is against international law."
Taher Al-Nono, political adviser to the leadership of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, told Reuters the proposal to resettle Palestinians from Gaza in Africa was "silly" and had been rejected by the Palestinians and Arab leaders.
"The Palestinians will not leave their land," he said. Israeli ministers say they want to examine ways of facilitating the voluntary departure of Palestinians from Gaza but are not considering forcible expulsions.
**Reuters**