The Djiboutian government has formally given a Somaliland representative and his staff 72 hours to leave the country, according to the Hargeisa-based Jamhuuriya daily.

Ambassador Rashid Yasin and his staff were told to vacate their offices after being informed that the government of Djibouti had cut off diplomatic relations with neighboring Somaliland.

The move came after the Djiboutian government's anger at a Somaliland decision last week to use the port of Berbera independently for livestock trade with the Arabian Gulf, wrote Jamhuuriya.

Both Ambassador Rashid and Abdullahi Mohamed Du'ale, Somaliland's foreign minister, have declined to comment on the expulsion.

Somaliland is composed of the northwestern regions of Somalia whose leaders unilaterally declared independence from the rest of the country in 1991 after longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre’s government collapsed.

Even though no single government officially recognizes Somaliland, the breakaway sub-state has representatives in some of the countries in the region.

It’s the second time Djibouti closed down Somaliland’s diplomatic offices since 2000.