The Djibouti Armed Forces are the military forces of Djibouti. They consist of the Djiboutian National Army and its sub-branches the Djiboutian Air Force and Djiboutian Navy. As of 2018, the Djibouti Armed Forces consists of 20,470 ground troops, which are divided into several regiments and battalions garrisoned in various areas throughout the country. The Djibouti Armed Forces are an important player in the Bab-el-Mandeb and Red Sea.
The national flag of Djibouti is a horizontal flag bicolor with equal bands of light blue and light green, with a white, equilateral triangle at the hoist. In the center of the triangle is a red star. The flag combines the basic layout and colors from the flag of the Front de Libération de la Côte des Somalis. The light blue represents the sky and the sea, as well as the Somalis, green represents the everlasting green of the earth, as well as the Afars, white represents the colour of peace and the five point red star represents unity, the blood shed by the martyrs of independence, as well as Djibouti being one of the five regions inhabited by the Somali people.
The culture of the Republic of Djibouti is diverse, due to the nation's Red Sea location at a crossroads of trade and commerce.
Djibouti is the capital of Djibouti. It is located in the coastal Djibouti Region on the Gulf of Tadjoura.
The Djiboutian Music refers to the musical styles, techniques and sounds of Djibouti. The first major form of modern Djiboutian music began in the mid-1940s, when Djibouti was a part of the French Somaliland. Djiboutian music is characterized by poetry, so that listening to a Djiboutian song is first paying attention to its meaning. The artist rocks the listeners in the cheerfulness of the refrains and the turn of the sentences. Often sung by a couple, a song is played in the form of a sleight of hand between a man and a woman, one recounting his feelings and his love, even his passion for the other, until the other accepts or rejects this offer.
A liberty pole is a wooden pole, or sometimes spear or lance, surmounted by a "cap of liberty", mostly of the Phrygian cap. The symbol originated in the immediate aftermath of the assassination of the Roman dictator Julius Caesar by a group of Rome's Senators in 44 BCE. Immediately after Caesar was killed the assassins, or Liberatores as they called themselves, went through the streets with their bloody weapons held up, one carrying a pileus carried on the tip of a spear. This symbolized that the Roman people had been freed from the rule of Caesar, which the assassins claimed had become a tyranny because it overstepped the authority of the Senate and thus betrayed the Republic.
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.
Ali Sabieh is the second largest city in Djibouti. It is situated about 98 kilometres Southwest of Djibouti City and 10 km (6 mi) north of the border with Ethiopia. It sprawls on a wide basin surrounded by granitic mountains on all sides. Ali Sabieh mild climate makes it a popular tourist destination for Djiboutians. The famous landmark of Ali Sabieh is located near the city.
Islam in Djibouti has a long history, first appearing in the Horn of Africa during the lifetime of Muhammad. Today, 98% of Djibouti's 490,000 inhabitants are Muslims. According to Pew, 77% follow the denomination of Sunnism, whilst 8% are non-denominational Muslim, and the remaining 13% follow other sects such as Quranism, Shia, Ibadism etc.. After independence, the nascent republic constructed a legal system based in part on Islamic law.
The Djiboutian Civil War was a conflict in Djibouti, lasting from 1991 to 1994 and resulting in thousands of fatalities. The uneven power sharing between the Issas and the Afars led to the Civil War that ravaged the country for three years.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Djibouti:
The Djiboutians are the people inhabiting or originating from Djibouti. The country is mainly composed of two ethnic groups, the Somali and the Afar. It has many languages - though Somali and Afar are the most widely spoken ones, Arabic and French serve as the official languages. There is a small Djiboutian diaspora in North America, Europe, and Australia.
Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area of 23,200 km2 (8,958 sq mi).
The Djiboutian passport is issued to citizens of Djibouti for international travel. The document is a biometric machine-readable passport with a blue cover with the text "République de Djibouti" above the coat of arms, and the text "passport" below it in Arabic and French. The passport is valid for 5 years and contains 31 pages. The passport includes the full name, photograph, signature and date of birth of the holder. The newer passports offer better security and state-of-the-art anti forging parameters and have a soft cover.
People's Republic of China–Djibouti relations refers to the current and historical relationship between the People's Republic of China and Djibouti. China and Djibouti established relations on January 8, 1979. China has financed a number of public works projects in Djibouti, including a stadium, the offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the People's Palace. In September 2010, Type 920 Hospital Ship, also known as the "Peace Ark", visited Djibouti.
The 2011 Djiboutian protests were widespread demonstrations and riots that took place between January and March 2011 in Djibouti, situated in the Horn of Africa. A member of the Arab League, the protests in Djibouti showed a clear influence from the concurrent Arab Spring protests in North Africa and the Arabian peninsula. The demonstrations ended after mass arrests and the barring of international observers.
Independence Day, observed annually on 27 June, is a national holiday in Djibouti. It mark the territory's declaration of independence from France. An independence referendum was held in the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas on 8 May 1977 alongside elections for a Constituent Assembly. Unlike the rigged 1958 and 1967 plebiscites, this time the territory became independent as Djibouti on 27 June 1977. Djibouti Independence Day is a national holiday, with workers given a day off. Independence Day is associated with military parades, fireworks, concerts, fairs, and political speeches and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history and culture of Djibouti.
The Constitution of Djibouti was adopted on 4 September 1992 and amended in 2010. The constitution is divided into 13 titles which together contain 97 articles.
The Flag Square, Plaza de la Bandera in Spanish, is the biggest monument dedicated to the Flag of Dominican Republic, is located in one of the busiest areas of the city of Santo Domingo, at the intersection of the Avenues February 27 and Gregorio Luperon. It is a patriotic monument seeks to pay tribute to one of the most important national symbols of the nation.
The Jile, also known as a Gile in Afar language, in Somali known as Qolxad, is a type of dagger with a long curved blade used by the Somali and Afar people found in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Eritrea. Unique to the Horn of Africa, it is the most famous and characteristic of Afar and Somali daggers. It can be made from a variety of different materials, depending on the quality of its craftsmanship. A national symbol of the republic, the Jile-Qolxad is featured on Djibouti's national emblem and on the Djiboutian franc.
