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.
The Somali Armed Forces are the military forces of the Federal Republic of Somalia. Headed by the president as commander-in-chief, they are constitutionally mandated to ensure the nation's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.
Mohamed Farrah Hassan Aidid was a Somali general and diplomat.
Ogaden is one of the historical names given to the modern Somali Region, the territory comprising the eastern portion of Ethiopia formerly part of the Hararghe province. The other two names are the Haud and Reserved area.
The Western Somali Liberation Front was a separatist rebel group fighting in eastern Ethiopia to create an independent state. It played a major role in the Ogaden War of 1977-78 assisting the invading Somali Army.
The Ogaden War, or the Ethio-Somali War, was a military conflict fought between Somalia and Ethiopia from July 1977 to March 1978 over the Ethiopian region of Ogaden. Somalia's invasion of the region, precursor to the wider war, met with the Soviet Union's disapproval, leading the superpower to end its support of Somalia and support Ethiopia instead.
The Ogaden National Liberation Front is a social and political movement, founded in 1984 to campaign for the right to self-determination for Somalis in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Its armed wing, the Ogaden National Liberation Army (ONLA), waged a violent insurgency against the Ethiopian government from 1994 to 2018.
The Ogaden is one of the major Somali clans.
The military history of Ethiopia dates back to the foundation of early Ethiopian Kingdoms in 980 BC. Ethiopia has been involved many of the major conflicts in the horn of Africa, and was one of the few native African nations which remained independent during the Scramble for Africa, managing to create a modern army. 19th and 20th century Ethiopian Military history is characterized by conflicts with the Dervish State, Mahdist Sudan, Egypt, and Italy, and later by a civil war.
The Somaliland campaign, also called the Anglo-Somali War or the Dervish War, was a series of military expeditions that took place between 1900 and 1920 in modern-day Somalia. The British were assisted in their offensives by the Ethiopians and Italians. During the First World War (1914–1918), the Dervish leader Mohammed Abdullah Hassan received support for a time, from the Emperor Iyasu V of Ethiopia, he was also sent a letter of support by the Ottomans though it was intercepted by Italian agents in Aden and may never have reached him. The conflict ended when the British aerially bombed the Dervish capital of Taleh in February 1920.
Osman Mahmoud is a Somali sub-clan. Is one of the larger sub-clans within the major Majeerteen Harti confederation of Darod clans. The sub-clan is most notorious for its rich history within Somalia, That of which include sultanates such as the Majeerteen Sultanate
The 2007–2008 Ethiopian crackdown in Ogaden was a military campaign by the Ethiopian Army against the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF). The crackdown against the guerrillas began after they killed 74 people in an attack on a Chinese-run oil exploration field in April 2007.
The Insurgency in Ogaden was an armed conflict that took place from 1994 to 2018. It was fought by separatists, the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), against the Ethiopian government. The war began in 1994, when the ONLF tried to separate Ethiopia's Somali Region from Ethiopia. It ended in a peace agreement as part of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's reforms.
Mustahīl is a town in eastern Ethiopia, close to the border with Somalia. Located in the Gode Zone in the Somali Region and straddling the Shabelle River, it has a latitude and longitude of 5°15′N44°44′E with an altitude of 193 meters above sea level. It is the main town of the Mustahīl woreda.
The military history of Somalia encompasses the major conventional wars, conflicts and skirmishes involving the historic empires, kingdoms and sultanates in the territory of present-day Somalia, through to modern times. It also covers the martial traditions, military architecture and hardware employed by Somali armies and their opponents.
Abdullahi Ahmed Irro, also known as Abdullahi Ahmad Yousef Irro, was a prominent Somali military professor and general. He helped establish the National Academy for Strategy.
Dr. Mohamed Sirad Dolal was an academic and a member of the central committee and executive council of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), a liberation movement in Ogaden determined to free its homeland from Ethiopia.
The 1978 Somali coup d'état attempt was a violent military coup attempt that took place in Somalia on 9 April 1978, against the regime of President Siad Barre. The United States Central Intelligence Agency estimated that the coup, led by Colonel Mohamed Osman Irro, involved around 24 officers, 2,000 soldiers, and 65 tanks. Following the failed coup, 17 alleged ringleaders, including Osman, were summarily executed by firing squad.
The Order of the Somali Star is the highest distinction award for military gallantry in Somalia. The Order of the Somali Star has been awarded to members of the Somali Armed Forces and foreign citizens who have conducted and exhibited great fidelity to the Somali Republic. It has been issued mainly during the Ogaden War to military and police officers posthumously.
Federalism in Ethiopia can be best explained by considering the ethnic and geographic diversity of modern-day Ethiopia, interpreted through the history of the nation’s reunification. Ethiopia contains over 80 ethnic groups of varying sizes, languages, religions and customs. According to the 2007 census, the top seven groups constitute 83% of the population. Ethiopia is mainly a rural country, with an urbanisation rate of only 23.2% (2023) and exhibits a wide variety of topography that impacts agricultural and economic activity.
Order of the Somali Star, 1st Class
Somalia 
Somali Navy 
Vice Admiral 
