Somaliland, officially the Republic of Somaliland, is an unrecognised sovereign state 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 5.7 million residents as of 2021. 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.
Marodi Jeh is an administrative region (gobol) in western Somaliland. It is the most populous region of the country. It is bordered by Awdal to the west, Sahil to the north, Togdheer to the east and Ethiopia to the south. Marodi Jeh was created by splitting the previously existing region (gobolka) Woqooyi Galbeed in two, the other part being Sahil. In 2007 the region of Woqooyi Galbeed was renamed to Maroodi Jeex. Woqooyi Galbeed was thus much larger than Marodi Jeh.
Las Anod is the administrative capital of the Sool region, currently controlled by Khatumo State forces aligned with Somalia.
Berbera is the capital of the Sahil region of Somaliland and is the main sea port of the country. Berbera is a coastal city and was the former capital of the British Somaliland protectorate before Hargeisa. It also served as a major port of the Ifat, Adal and Isaaq sultanates from the 13th to 19th centuries.
Burao, also spelt Bur'o or Bur'ao, is the capital of the Togdheer region and the second largest city in Somaliland. Burao was also the third largest city of Somalia and the site of the declaration of an independent Somaliland on 18 May 1991.
The Isaaq (Somali: Reer Sheekh Isxaaq, is a major clan in Somaliland. It is one of the major clans in the Horn of Africa, with a large and densely populated traditional territories.
The Somali National Army is the ground forces component of the Somali Armed Forces, and is the largest out of the three service branches that make up the majority of the Armed Forces.
The Somali National Movement was one of the first and most important organized guerilla groups opposed to the Siad Barre regime in the 1980s to the 1990s, as well as being the main anti-government faction during the Somaliland War of Independence. The organisation was founded in London, England, on April 6, 1981 by Dr Omer Elmi Dihoud Ahmed Ismail Abdi Duksi Hassan Isse Jama, Hassan Adan Wadadid, a former Somali diplomat, who stated that initially the group's purpose was to overthrow the Siad Barre regime.
The Habr Awal, also contemporarily known as the Subeer Awal, and alternately romanized 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 Sa'ad Musa and Issa Musa sub-clans. Its members form a part of the Habar Magadle confederation.
Maydh is an ancient port city in the eastern Sanaag region of Somaliland.
The Reer Nuur, also known as Nuur Yoonis, is a northern Somali clan, a sub-division of the Makahiil sub-clan of the Gadabuursi clan family.
Tog Wajaale is a city on the border of Somaliland and Ethiopia. Tog Wajaale is the main border crossing for goods coming in and out of Somaliland, primarily from the port city of Berbera, Somaliland's main port.
Gabiley District is a district in the Maroodi Jeex province of Somaliland, with its capital in Gabiley.
The Isaaq genocide, also known as the Hargeisa holocaust, was the systematic, state-sponsored genocide of Isaaq civilians between 1987 and 1989 by the Somali Democratic Republic, under the dictatorship of Siad Barre, during the Somaliland War of Independence. The number of civilian deaths in this massacre is estimated to be between 50,000 and 100,000, according to various sources, whilst local reports estimate the total civilian deaths to be upwards of 200,000 Isaaq civilians. The genocide also included the levelling and complete destruction of the second and third largest cities in the Somali Republic, Hargeisa and Burao, respectively, and had caused up to 500,000 Somalis of the region, primarily of the Isaaq clan, to flee their land and cross the border to Hartasheikh in Ethiopia as refugees in what was described as "one of the fastest and largest forced movements of people recorded in Africa", which resulted in the creation of the world's largest refugee camp then (1988), with another 400,000 being displaced. The scale of destruction led to Hargeisa being known as the 'Dresden of Africa'. The killings happened during the Somali Civil War and have been referred to as a "forgotten genocide".
Ahmed Hassan Awke was a veteran Somali journalist, who spent most of his life in the media industry. Awke is often considered to be one of the best Somali journalists because of his very linguistic eloquence, and was often used as a favorite commentator. He served as a special reporter for Somalia's late president Siad Barre until it collapsed in 1991. He hailed from the Jibril Abokor, a Sa'ad Musa sub-division of the Habr Awal Isaaq clan that predominately inhabits the Gabiley region.
The Somaliland Peace Process refers to the series of grassroot initiatives that brought peace to Somaliland after the collapse of central government of Somalia. In conjunction with the Somali National Movement, communities in Somaliland negotiated a series of truces to end hostilities and address the grievances between the communities who were often on opposing sides to the Barre regime.
Allaybaday is a town in the Maroodi Jeex region of Somaliland, on the border with Ethiopia. It is inhabited by Abdalla Abokor, Sa'ad Musa branch of the Habar Awal clan.
The Isaaq Sultanate was a Somali kingdom that ruled parts of the Horn of Africa during the 18th and 19th centuries. It spanned the territories of the Isaaq clan in modern-day Somaliland and Ethiopia. The sultanate was governed by the Rer Guled branch of the Garhajis clan and is the pre-colonial predecessor to the modern Republic of Somaliland.
The Sa'ad Musa or Saad Musa is a northern Somali clan. Its members form a part of the Habr Awal clan of the Isaaq clan family. The Sa'ad Musa traditionally consists of nomadic pastoralists, coastal people, merchants and farmers. The clan inhabits Somaliland, including Maroodi Jeex, and Sahil as well as Djibouti, the Somali Region of Ethiopia and Kenya.
The Somaliland War of Independence was a rebellion waged by the Somali National Movement against the ruling military junta in Somalia led by General Siad Barre lasting from its founding on 6 April 1981 and ended on 18 May 1991 when the SNM declared what was then northern Somalia independent as the Republic of Somaliland. The conflict served as the main theater of the larger Somali Rebellion that started in 1978. The conflict was in response to the harsh policies enacted by the Barre regime against the main clan family in Somaliland, the Isaaq, including a declaration of economic warfare on the Isaaq. These harsh policies were put into effect shortly after the conclusion of the disastrous Ogaden War in 1978.
Ethiopia 