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Somalia,officially the Federal Republic of Somalia and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic,is a country located in the Horn of Africa. The country was an important centre for commerce with the rest of the ancient world,and according to most scholars,it is among the most probable locations of the fabled ancient Land of Punt. During the Middle Ages,several powerful Somali states and port towns dominated the regional trade,the Mogadishu Sultanate and Ajuran Sultanate both centered around the port town Mogadishu,but also the port towns of Barawe and Merca.
Somaliland,officially the Republic of Somaliland,is an unrecognised country in the Horn of Africa,recognised internationally as de jure part of Somalia. It is located in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden and bordered by Djibouti to the northwest,Ethiopia to the south and west,and Somalia to the east. Its claimed territory has an area of 176,120 square kilometres (68,000 sq mi),with approximately 6.2 million residents as of 2024. The capital and largest city is Hargeisa. The Government of Somaliland regards itself as the successor state to British Somaliland,which,as the briefly independent State of Somaliland,united from 1960 to 1991 with the Trust Territory of Somaliland to form the Somali Republic.
British Somaliland,officially the Somaliland Protectorate,was a protectorate of the United Kingdom in modern Somaliland. During its existence,the territory was bordered by Italian Somalia,French Somali Coast and Abyssinia. From 1940 to 1941,it was occupied by the Italians and was part of Italian East Africa.
The Horn of Africa (HoA),also known as the Somali Peninsula,is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa. Located on the easternmost part of the African mainland,it is the fourth largest peninsula in the world. It is composed of Somalia,Djibouti,Ethiopia,Eritrea and Somaliland. Although not common,broader definitions also include parts or all of Kenya and Sudan. It has been described as a region of great geopolitical and strategic importance since it is situated along the southern boundary of the Red Sea,extending hundreds of kilometres into the Gulf of Aden,Guardafui Channel,and Indian Ocean,it also shares a maritime border with the Arabian Peninsula.
Greater Somalia sometimes called Greater Somaliland is the geographical location comprising the regions in the Horn of Africa in which ethnic Somalis live and have historically inhabited.
The Somali people are a Cushitic ethnic group native to the Horn of Africa who share a common ancestry,culture and history. The Lowland East Cushitic Somali language is the shared mother tongue of ethnic Somalis,which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family,and they are predominantly Sunni Muslim. Forming one of the largest ethnic groups on the continent,they cover one of the most expansive landmasses by a single ethnic group in Africa.
The Isaaq is a major Somali clan family. It is one of the largest Somali clan families in the Horn of Africa,with a large and densely populated traditional territory.
The Hawiye is the largest Somali clan family. Members of this clan traditionally inhabit central and southern Somalia,Somaliland,Djibouti,Ethiopia and Kenya. They are also the majority in the capital city,Mogadishu.
The Darod is a Somali clan. The forefather of this clan was Sheikh Abdirahman bin Isma'il al-Jabarti,more commonly known as Darod. The clan primarily settles the apex of the Horn of Africa and its peripheries,the Somali hinterlands adjacent to Oromia (Ogaden),and both sides of the Kenya–Somalia border. The Darod clan is the largest Somali clan family in the Horn of Africa.
The Dir is one of the largest and most prominent Somali clans in the Horn of Africa. They are also considered to be the oldest Somali stock to have inhabited the region. Its members inhabit Djibouti,Somalia,Ethiopia,and northeastern Kenya.
The Marehan is a Somali clan,which is part of one of the largest Somali clan families,the Darod.
The Islamic Courts Union was a legal and political organization founded by Mogadishu-based Sharia courts during the early 2000s to combat the lawlessness stemming from the Somali Civil War. By mid-to-late 2006,the Islamic Courts had expanded their influence to become the de facto government of most of southern Somalia.
The Ethiopian occupation of Somalia, also called the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia or the Ethiopian intervention in the Somali Civil War,was an armed conflict that lasted from late 2006 to early 2009. It began when military forces from Ethiopia,supported by the United States,invaded Somalia to depose the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) and install the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). The conflict continued after the invasion when an anti-Ethiopian insurgency emerged and rapidly escalated. During 2007 and 2008,the insurgency recaptured the majority of territory lost by the ICU. At the start of 2009 Ethiopian troops withdrew from Somalia,but became re-involved several years later to counter the growing strength of Al-Shabaab.
The Habr Awal,also contemporarily known as the Awal,and alternately known as the Zubeyr Awal is a major Northern Somali clan of the wider Isaaq clan family,and is further divided into eight sub-clans of whom the two largest and most prominent are the Issa Musa and Sa'ad Musa sub-clans. Its members form a part of the Habar Magadle confederation.
The Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) was political party formed in Eritrea during September 2007 as the successor to the Islamic Courts Union (ICU). It served as the principal political opposition to the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG). The organization would also participate in the 2007 and 2008 years of the insurgency during the Ethiopian intervention in Somalia.
The Federal Government of Somalia is the internationally recognised government of Somalia,and the first attempt to create a central government in Somalia since the collapse of the Somali Democratic Republic. It replaced the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia on 20 August 2012 with the adoption of the Constitution of Somalia.
Jubaland,the Juba Valley or Azania,is a Federal Member State in southern Somalia. Its eastern border lies 40–60 km (25–35 mi) east of the Jubba River,stretching from Gedo to the Indian Ocean,while its western side flanks the North Eastern Province in Kenya,which was carved out of Jubaland during the colonial period.
Sir Nicholas Peter Kay is a British diplomat. He has served as the British ambassador to Afghanistan,Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. From 2013 to 2016 he was the United Nations Special Representative for Somalia.
The Somaliland Declaration of Independence was made on 18 May 1991 by Somali sultans from the Isaaq,Dhulbahante,Issa,Gadabursi,Warsangali clans,as well as the Somali National Movement.
References
- ↑ Ibrahim, A. A. (2006). Taxanaha taariikhda Soomaaliya. United Kingdom: Xildhiban.
- ↑ The Statesman's Year-Book 1963: The One-Volume ENCYCLOPAEDIA of All Nations. (2016). United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan UK.pp.1390
- ↑ Mohammed Farah Aidid and His Vision of Somalia. (1994). India: Vikas Publishing House.pp.33
- ↑ Minbar Al-Islam. (1962). Egypt: Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Ministry of Waqfs.pp.8
- ↑ Africa. (1961). United Kingdom: Africa.