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- published: 23 Sep 2012
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- author: TheGobfilms
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- Abdullahi Issa
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-
Aden
Aden (/ˈɑːdɛn/ AH-den; Arabic: عدن ʻAdan) is a seaport city in South Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately a million people. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of a dormant volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a low isthmus. This harbour, Front Bay, was first used by the ancient Kingdom of Awsan between the 5th and 7th centuries BCE. The modern harbour is on the other side of the peninsula.
Aden consists of a number of distinct sub-centers: Crater, the original port city; Ma'alla, the modern port; Tawahi, known as "Steamer Point" in the colonial period; and the resorts of Gold Mohur. Khormaksar, located on the isthmus that connects Aden proper with the mainland, includes the city's diplomatic missions, the main offices of Aden University, and Aden International Airport (the former British Royal Air Force station RAF Khormaksar), Yemen's second biggest airport. On the mainland are the sub-centres of Sheikh Othman, a former oasis area; Al-Mansura, a town planned by the British; and Madinat ash-Sha'b (formerly Madinat al-Itihad), the site designated as the capital of the South Arabian Federation and now home to a large power/desalinization facility and additional faculties of Aden University.
wn.com/Aden -
African Union
The African Union (abbreviated AU in English, and UA in its other official languages) is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). The most important decisions of the AU are made by the Assembly of the African Union, a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and government of its member states. The AU's secretariat, the African Union Commission, is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Among the objectives of the AU's leading institutions are:
The African Union is made up of both political and administrative bodies. The highest decision-making organ is the Assembly of the African Union, made up of all the heads of state or government of member states of the AU. The Assembly is chaired by Yayi Boni, president of Benin, elected at the 18thordinary meeting of the Assembly in January 2012. The AU also has a representative body, the Pan African Parliament, which consists of 265 members elected by the national parliaments of the AU member states. Its president is Idriss Ndele Moussa.
wn.com/African_Union -
Algeria
Coordinates: 28°N 2°E / 28°N 2°E / 28; 2
Algeria
i/ælˈdʒɪəriə/ (Arabic: الجزائر, al-Jazā'ir; Berber: ⴷⵣⴰⵢⴻⵔ Dzayer), officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria (الجمهورية الجزائرية الديمقراطية الشعبية, al-Jumhūriyyah al-Jazāʾiriyyah ad-Dīmuqrāṭiyyah ash-Shaʿbiyyah), also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a large country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.
When referring to its land area, Algeria is the largest country in Africa, Maghreb and the Arab World. It is also the largest of the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea; it is also the tenth-largest country in the world. The country is bordered in the northeast by Tunisia, in the east by Libya, in the west by Morocco, in the southwest by Western Sahara, Mauritania, and Mali, in the southeast by Niger, and in the north by the Mediterranean Sea. Its size is almost 2,400,000 square kilometres (926,645 sq mi) with an estimated population of 37.1 million as of 2012. Algeria is a member of the African Union, the Arab League, OPEC and the United Nations. The country is also a founding member of the Arab Maghreb Union.
wn.com/Algeria -
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola (Portuguese: República de Angola, pronounced: [ʁɨˈpublikɐ dɨ ɐ̃ˈɡɔla];Kikongo, Kimbundu, Umbundu: Repubilika ya Ngola), is a country in southern Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city. The exclave province of Cabinda has borders with the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Portuguese were present in some—mostly coastal—points of the territory of what is now Angola, from the 16th to the 19th century, interacting in diverse ways with the peoples that lived there. In the 19th century they slowly and hesitantly began to establish themselves in the interior. Angola as a Portuguese colony encompassing the present territory was not established before the end of the 19th century, and "effective occupation", as required by the Berlin Conference (1884) was achieved only by the 1920s. Independence was achieved in 1975, after a protracted liberation war. After independence, Angola was the scene of an intense civil war from 1975 to 2002. The country has vast mineral and petroleum reserves, and its economy has on average grown at a two-digit pace since the 1990s, especially since the end of the civil war. In spite of this, standards of living remain low for the majority of the population, and life expectancy and infant mortality rates in Angola are among the worst-ranked in the world. At the same time, a minority has reached comfortable life standards, and the dominant stratum has succeeded in accumulating considerable wealth, so that social inequality in Angola is one of the highest in the world.
wn.com/Angola -
Antarctica
Antarctica
This map uses an orthographic projection, near-polar aspect. The South Pole is near the center, where longitudinal lines converge.
Antarctica (
i/æntˈɑrtɨkə/ or /ænˈtɑːktɨkə/) is Earth's southernmost continent, containing the geographic South Pole. It is situated in the Antarctic region of the Southern Hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle, and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. At 14.0 million km2 (5.4 million sq mi), it is the fifth-largest continent in area after Asia, Africa, North America, and South America. For comparison, Antarctica is nearly twice the size of Australia. About 98% of Antarctica is covered by ice that averages at least 1 mile (1.6 km) in thickness.
Antarctica, on average, is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent, and has the highest average elevation of all the continents. Antarctica is considered a desert, with annual precipitation of only 200 mm (8 inches) along the coast and far less inland. The temperature in Antarctica has reached −89 °C (−129 °F). There are no permanent human residents, but anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 people reside throughout the year at the research stations scattered across the continent. Only cold-adapted organisms survive there, including many types of algae, animals (for example mites, nematodes, penguins, seals and tardigrades), bacteria, fungi, plants, and protista. Vegetation where it occurs is tundra.
wn.com/Antarctica -
Ascension Island
Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island in the equatorial waters of the South Atlantic Ocean, around 1,600 kilometres (1,000 mi) from the coast of Africa and 2,250 kilometres (1,400 mi) from the coast of South America, which is roughly midway between the horn of South America and Africa. It is governed as part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, of which the main island, Saint Helena, is around 1,300 kilometres (800 mi) to the southeast, and the territory also includes the "remotest populated archipelago" on earth, the sparsely populated Tristan da Cunha archipelago some thirty degrees farther south–about half the way to the Antarctic Circle.
The Island is named after the day of its recorded discovery, Ascension Day, and is located at 7°56′S 14°22′W / 7.933°S 14.367°W / -7.933; -14.367Coordinates: 7°56′S 14°22′W / 7.933°S 14.367°W / -7.933; -14.367, about as far south of the equator as tropical Venezuela is to its north. Historically, it has played a role as an important safe haven and coaling station to mariners and for commercial airliners during the days of international air travel by flying boats and during World War II was an important naval and air station, especially providing antisubmarine warfare bases in the Battle of the Atlantic and throughout the war. Ascension Island was garrisoned by the British Admiralty from 22 October 1815 to 1922.
wn.com/Ascension_Island -
Australia
Australia (
/əˈstreɪljə/), officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent as well as the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area. Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north; the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east.
For at least 40,000 years before European settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who belonged to one or more of roughly 250 language groups. After discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Great Britain in 1770 and settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26 January 1788. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades; the continent was explored and an additional five self-governing Crown Colonies were established.
wn.com/Australia -
Awdal
Awdal (Somali: Awdal, Arabic: أودال) is a region (gobolka) in northwestern Somalia. Its capital is Borama.
Awdal is bordered by Ethiopia, Djibouti, the Somali region of Woqooyi Galbeed, and the Gulf of Aden. The westernmost point of the province is Beyu Anod, a peak of the Marmar Range.
Control of the region is disputed between Awdalland, a proposed autonomous state, and Somaliland, a self-declared independent republic that is internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Somalia.
Awdal (also spelled Adal or Adel) takes its name from a medieval empire, the Adal Sultanate, whose power rose in the 16th century. The area along the Ethiopian border is abundant with ruined cities, which were described by the British explorer Richard F. Burton.
A modern separatist movement, known as the Awdal Republic, sought independence in 1995 after the establishment of Somaliland. A Dir-dominated movement in Awdal province also threatens to form its own administration if the secessionist Somaliland region's self-declared independence is officially recognized.
wn.com/Awdal -
Awdalland
Awdalland (Somali: Awdalland, Arabic: أرض أودال) is a region in northwestern Somalia. Centered on Borama in the Awdal province, its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 2010.
Awdalland (also spelled Adal or Adel) takes its name from a medieval empire, the Adal Sultanate, whose power rose in the 16th century. The area along the Ethiopian border is abundant with ruined cities, which were described by the British explorer Richard F. Burton.
A modern separatist movement, known as the Awdalland Republic, sought independence in 1995 after the ouster of Mohamed Siad Barre's regime.
In 2010, the formation of a new autonomous region within a federal Somalia was officially declared. Referred to as Awdalland or the Adal State, the local administration does not recognize the secessionist Somaliland government's claim to sovereignty or to its territory.
The Awdal region of Awdalland is primarily inhabited by Somalis from the Gadabuursi clans.
wn.com/Awdalland -
Azawad
Azawad (Tuareg: ⴰⵣⴰⵓⴷ, Azawd; Arabic: أزواد , Azawād; French: Azawad) is an unrecognised state in North Africa unilaterally declared by the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) in 2012 after a Tuareg rebellion drove the Malian Army from the territory. Azawad, as claimed by the MNLA, comprises the Malian regions of Timbuktu, Kidal, Gao, as well as a part of Mopti region, encompassing about 60 percent of Mali's claimed total land area. Azawad borders Burkina Faso to the south, Mauritania to the west and northwest, Algeria to the north and northeast, and Niger to the east and southeast, with undisputed Mali to its southwest. It straddles a portion of the Sahara and the Sahelian zone. Gao is its largest city and the temporary capital, while Timbuktu is the second largest city, and intended to be the permanent capital.
On 6 April 2012, in a statement posted to its website, the MNLA declared "irrevocably" the independence of Azawad from Mali. In Gao on the same day, Bilal Ag Acherif, the secretary-general of the movement, signed the Azawadi Declaration of Independence, which also declared the MNLA as the interim administrators of Azawad until a "national authority" is formed. The proclamation has yet to be recognised by a foreign entity, and even the MNLA's claim to have de facto control of the Azawad region is disputed. The Economic Community of West African States, which refused to recognise Azawad and called the declaration of its independence "null and void", has said it may send troops into the disputed region in support of the Malian claim. On 26 May, the MNLA and its former co-belligerent Ansar Dine announced a pact in which they would merge to form an Islamist state.
wn.com/Azawad -
Bahrain
Bahrain ( pronunciation) (Arabic: البحرين, al-Baḥrayn) (Persian: بحرين, Baḥrain), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain (Arabic: مملكة البحرين, Mamlakat al-Baḥrayn), is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,234,571, including 666,172 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.
Bahrain is an archipelago of 33 islands, the largest being Bahrain Island, at 55 km (34 mi) long by 18 km (11 mi) wide. Saudi Arabia lies to the west and is connected to Bahrain by the King Fahd Causeway. The peninsula of Qatar is to the southeast across the Gulf of Bahrain. The planned Qatar Bahrain Causeway will link Bahrain and Qatar and become the world's longest marine causeway.
Known for its oil and pearls, Bahrain is also home to many large structures, including the Bahrain World Trade Center and the Bahrain Financial Harbour, with a proposal in place to build the 1,022 m (3,353 ft) high Murjan Tower. The Qal'at al-Bahrain (the harbour and capital of the ancient land of Dilmun) was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005. The Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix takes place at the Bahrain International Circuit.
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Bakool
Bakool is a region (gobolka) in southwestern Somalia.
It is bordered by the Ogaden and the Somalian regions of Hiiraan, Bay and Gedo.
Bakool, like Gedo and Bay, as well as most parts of the Jubbada Dhexe (Middle Juba) region, used to be a part of the old Upper Region, which was subdivided in the mid 1980s. It has its capital at Xuddur.
The Bakool region consists of five districts:
wn.com/Bakool -
Baligubadle
Baligubadle is a town in the northwestern Woqooyi Galbeed province of Somaliland, a self-declared republic that is internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Somalia.
Coordinates: 9°30′N 43°23′E / 9.5°N 43.383°E / 9.5; 43.383
wn.com/Baligubadle -
Banaadir
Banaadir (Somali: Banaadir, Arabic: بنادر) is a region (gobolka) in southeastern Somalia.
The Somali term Banaadir derives from the original Persian word بندر bandar, meaning "port" or "harbour". It refers to the northern historical ports of Barawa and Mogadishu.
Banaadir is bordered by the Somalian regions of Shabeellaha Dhexe (Middle Shabele) and Shabeellaha Hoose (Lower Shabele), as well as the Indian Ocean.
Its capital is Mogadishu, though the region itself is coextensive with the city and is much smaller than the historical region of Benadir.
Banaadir is the smallest of Somalia's eighteen regions.
The Banaadir region consists of fourteen districts:
wn.com/Banaadir -
Bangladesh
Coordinates: 23°N 90°E / 23°N 90°E / 23; 90
Bangladesh (i/ˈbɑːŋɡlədɛʃ/ or i/bæŋɡləˈdɛʃ/ (Anglicized pronunciation); Bengali: বাংলাদেশ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh (Bengali: গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ Gônoprojatontri Bangladesh) is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India and Burma and by the Bay of Bengal to the south. The capital (and largest city) is Dhaka, located in central Bangladesh. The official state language is Bengali. The name Bangladesh means "Land of Bengal" or "Country of Bengal" the in the Bengali language, from Bangla "Bengal" and desh holding a dual meaning of "land" and "country" as English "country," German land, French pays, etc.
The borders of present-day Bangladesh were established with the partition of Bengal during the reign and demise of the British India. Its map was chartered by Sir Cyril Radcliffe during the creation of Pakistan and India in 1947, when the region became East Pakistan, part of the newly formed nation of Pakistan. Due to political exclusion and economic exploitation by the politically dominant West Pakistan, popular agitation grew against West Pakistan and led to the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, after the Bangladeshi Declaration of Independence on 26 March 1971. With the intervention of the Indian Army, the war came to an end on 16 December 1971 with the surrender of the Pakistan Army at Ramna Race Course.
wn.com/Bangladesh -
Belgium
Belgium (i/ˈbɛldʒəm/ BEL-jəm), officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO. Belgium covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres (11,787 sq mi), and it has a population of about 11 million people. Straddling the cultural boundary between Germanic and Latin Europe, Belgium is home to two main linguistic groups, the Dutch-speakers, mostly Flemish (about 60%), and the French-speakers, mostly Walloons (about 40%), plus a small group of German-speakers. Belgium's two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region, officially bilingual, is a mostly French-speaking enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in the political history and a complex system of government.
wn.com/Belgium -
Benin
Benini/bɨˈniːn/ (formerly, Dahomey), officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, by Nigeria to the east and by Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. A majority of the population live on its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin. The capital of Benin is Porto-Novo, but the seat of government is in Cotonou, the country's largest city. Benin covers an area of approximately 110,000 square kilometers (42,000 sq mi), with a population of approximately 9.05 million. Benin is a tropical, sub-Saharan nation, highly dependent on agriculture, with substantial employment and income arising from subsistence farming.
The official language of Benin is French, however, indigenous languages such as Fon and Yoruba are commonly spoken. The largest religious group in Benin is Roman Catholicism, followed closely by Islam, Vodun and Protestantism. Benin is a member of the United Nations, the African Union, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone, La Francophonie, the Community of Sahel-Saharan States, the African Petroleum Producers Association and the Niger Basin Authority.
wn.com/Benin -
Berbera
Berbera (Somali: Barbara, Arabic: بربرة) is a city and seat of Berbera District in Somaliland, a self-proclaimed Independent Republic with de facto control over its own territory, which is recognized by the international community and the Somali Government as a part of Somalia. It was for centuries the capital of the Somaliland region and also the colonial capital of British Somaliland from 1870 to 1941 when it was moved to Hargeisa. Located strategically on the oil route, Berbera has a deep sea port that was completed in 1962, and which is still the main commercial seaport for Somaliland.
Berbera preserves the ancient name of the coast along the southern shore of the Gulf of Aden. It is thought to be the city Malao described as 800 stadia beyond the city of the Avalites, described in the eighth chapter of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, which was written by a Greek merchant in the first century CE. In the Periplus it is described as
an open roadstead, sheltered by a spit running out from the east. Here the natives are more peaceable. There are imported into this place the things already mentioned, and many tunics, cloaks from Arsinoe, dressed and dyed; drinking-cups, sheets of soft copper in small quantity, iron, and gold and silver coin, not much. There are exported from these places myrrh, a little frankincense, (that known as far-side), the harder cinnamon, duaca, Indian copal and macir, which are imported into Arabia; and slaves, but rarely.
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Borama
Borama (Somali: Boorama, Arabic: بوراما), also known as Borame, is the capital city in the northwestern Awdal province of Somalia. The commercial seat of the province, it is situated near the border with Djibouti and Ethiopia.
During the Middle Ages, Borama was ruled by the Adal Sultanate. It later formed a part of the British Somaliland protectorate in the first half of the 20th century.
The city has a population of 300,000 residents. It has been a leading example in community organizing, having been the first area in northwestern Somalia to adopt a self-help scheme in the wake of the civil war.
As with several nearby towns such as Amud, numerous archaeological finds have been discovered in the Borama area that point to an eventful past. The latter include ancient remains of tombs, houses and mosques, in addition to sherds of Oriental wares, particularly Chinese porcelain. The artefacts and structures date from various historical periods, ranging from the 12th through to the 18th centuries. Most, however, are from the 15th and 16th centuries, a time of great commercial activity in the region that is associated with the medieval Adal Sultanate.
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Bosaso
Bosaso (Somali: Boosaaso, Arabic: بوساسو) is a city in northern Somalia, which serves as the nation's main port. Situated on the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden, it is the commercial capital of the Bari region (gobolka) in the autonomous Puntland state.
Formerly known as Bandar Qasim, the city's population is estimated at about 433,471 residents. While Bosaso is a melting pot, with residents hailing from all the major clans of Somalia, most of its population is from the Harti confederation of Darod sub-clans. The city is relatively peaceful in comparison to the southern parts of Somalia.
The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea indicates that ancient Greek merchants sailed to Bosaso, providing notes about the strategic and geographical location of the current Bosaso area, which was known as Mosylon in ancient times.
Bosaso was previously known as Bandar Qasim, a name derived from a Somali trader of the same name who is said to have first settled in the area during the 14th century. It is believed that Qasim's favourite camel was called Boosaas, from which derived the current name of the town. The town was thus first called Bandar Qassim after its founder ("Qasim's town"), then later dubbed Bosaso after its founder's trusted camel. This story is, however, purely speculative. Historically, Bosaso has been a Harti Darod stronghold, and evolved as a coastal outpost of their Sultanates.
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Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana (Tswana: Lefatshe la Botswana), is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are properly referred to as "Batswana" (singular: Motswana), but many English-language sources use "Botswanan". Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966. It has held free and fair democratic elections since independence.
Botswana is flat, and up to 70% is covered by the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the south and southeast, Namibia to the west and north, and Zimbabwe to the northeast. Its border with Zambia to the north near Kazungula, Zambia is poorly defined but at most is a few hundred meters long.
A mid-sized country of just over two million people, Botswana is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. Botswana was one of the poorest countries in Africa when it gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1966, with a GDP per capita of about US$70. Botswana has since transformed itself, becoming one of the fastest-growing economies in the world to a GDP (purchasing power parity) per capita of about $14,000. The country also has a strong tradition as a representative democracy.
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British Somaliland
British Somaliland (Somali: Dhulka Biritishka ee Soomaaliya, Arabic: الصومال البريطاني Al-Sumal Al-Britaniy) was a British protectorate in the northern part of present-day Somalia. For much of its existence, British Somaliland was bordered by French Somaliland, Ethiopia, and Italian Somaliland. From 1940 to 1941, it was occupied by the Italians and was part of Italian East Africa. The protectorate briefly obtained independence on July 1, 1960 as the State of Somaliland before uniting as scheduled later the same week with the Trust Territory of Somalia (the former Italian Somaliland) to form the Somali Republic. The government of Somaliland, a self-declared sovereign state that is internationally recognised as an autonomous region of Somalia, regards the territory as the successor state to the State of Somaliland.
In 1888, after signing successive treaties with the then ruling Somali Sultans such as Mohamoud Ali Shire of the Warsangali Sultanate, the British established a protectorate in the region referred to as British Somaliland. The British garrisoned the protectorate from Aden and administered it from their British India colony until 1898. British Somaliland was then administered by the Foreign Office until 1905 and afterwards by the Colonial Office.
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Burao
Burao (var. Bur'o;Somali: Burco, Arabic: برعو) is the capital city of the Togdheer province in Somaliland, a self-declared republic that is internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Somalia. In terms of population, it is the second largest city in Somaliland after Hargeisa.
Burao was the site of the unilateral and internationally unrecognized declaration of an independent Somaliland on May 18, 1991. Also like the other cities in the northern part of the country, Burao has been rebuilt with limited outside aid. The city has boomed economically with the money coming in and people from rural areas moving to the city.
Burao's population has greatly increased over the years. Today, the city has a population of about 400,000 inhabitants. Although information on the number of people voting in the city in 2006 parliamentary elections is available, no census was conducted for more than 20 years.
As of November 1994[update], the main inhabitants of Burao are the Habar Yoonis and the Habar Jeclo, of the larger Isaaq Somali clan.
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Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (i/bərˌkiːnə ˈfɑːsoʊ/ bər-KEE-nə FAH-soh; French: [buʁkina faso]) – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest. The country's capital is Ouagadougou.
Its size is 274,200 square kilometres (105,900 sq mi) with an estimated population of more than 15,757,000. Formerly called the Republic of Upper Volta, it was renamed on 4 August 1984, by President Thomas Sankara, to mean "the land of upright people" in Mòoré and Dioula, the major native languages of the country. Figuratively, "Burkina" may be translated, "men of integrity", from the Mòoré language, and "Faso" means "fatherland" in Dioula. The inhabitants of Burkina Faso are known as Burkinabè (
/bərˈkiːnəbeɪ/ bər-KEE-nə-bay).
Burkina Faso was populated between 14,000 and 5000 BC by hunter-gatherers in the country's northwestern region. Farm settlements appeared between 3600 and 2600 BC. What is now central Burkina Faso was principally composed of Mossi kingdoms. These Mossi Kingdoms would become a French protectorate in 1896. After gaining independence from France in 1960, the country underwent many governmental changes until arriving at its current form, a semi-presidential republic. The president is Blaise Compaoré.
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Burma
Burmai/ˈbɜrmə/ BUR-mə, also known as Myanmar i/ˌmjɑːnˈmɑr/ MYAHN--MAR, is a country in South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is bordered by India, Bangladesh, China, Laos and Thailand. One-third of Burma's total perimeter of 1,930 kilometres (1,200 mi) forms an uninterrupted coastline along the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. At 676,578 km2 (261,227 sq mi), it is the 40th largest country in the world and the second largest country in Southeast Asia. Burma is also the 24th most populous country in the world with over 60.28 million people.
Burma is home to some of the early civilizations of Southeast Asia including the Pyu and the Mon. In the 9th century, the Burmans of the Kingdom of Nanzhao, entered the upper Irrawaddy valley and, following the establishment of the Pagan Empire in the 1050s, the Burmese language and culture slowly became dominant in the country. During this period, Theravada Buddhism gradually became the predominant religion of the country. The Pagan Empire fell due to the Mongol invasions (1277–1301), and several warring states emerged. In the second half of the 16th century, the country was reunified by the Taungoo Dynasty which for a brief period was the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia. The early 19th century Konbaung Dynasty ruled over an area that included modern Burma as well as Manipur and Assam. The country was colonized by Britain following three Anglo-Burmese Wars (1824–1885).
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Burundi
Burundi (pronounced /bəˈɹʊndɨ/), officially the Republic of Burundi (Kirundi: Republika y'u Burundi, [buˈɾundi]; French: République du Burundi, [byˈʁyndi]), is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura. Although the country is landlocked, much of the southwestern border is adjacent to Lake Tanganyika.
The Twa, Tutsi, and Hutu peoples have occupied Burundi since the country's formation five centuries ago. Burundi was ruled as a kingdom by the Tutsi for over two hundred years. However, at the beginning of the twentieth century, Germany and Belgium occupied the region, and Burundi and Rwanda became a European colony known as Ruanda-Urundi.
Political unrest occurred throughout the region, in part, because of social differences between the Tutsi and Hutu, provoking civil war in Burundi throughout the middle twentieth century. Presently, Burundi is governed as a presidential representative democratic republic.
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Buuhoodle
Buhoodle or Buuhoodle (also known as Bohotle) is the capital of the Ayn region in northern Somalia. It is disputed between Somaliland, Puntland and HBM-SSC (Hoggaanka Badbaadada iyo Mideynta SSC), a local unionist group whose goal is the creation of its own regional administration (Sool, Sanaag and Cayn or SSC).
Buuhoodle is an historical city. It is where the Dervish nationalist movement in Somalia began. The movement was largely involved in fighting the colonial power of Great Britain during the late 19th and early 20th century. The inhabitants are very proud people who disdain colonialism. Noble individuals who were born in Buuhoodle include: Ismaciil Mire, Samatar Baxnaan, Cali Dhuux, Aadan Carab, Sayid Moxamed Abdulle Xasan, Cumar Igal.
Buhoodle is located on the border between Somalia and Ethiopia. It is serves as a commercial hub for the movement of goods to and from Bosaso, Garoowe, Las Anod, Galcayo, Wardheer, Burco, the surrounding area, and Ethiopia. The city is rich in livestock as well as agricalture. Since 1993 the city has been growing. To day, the city has modern communication systems such as cell phones, land-line phones, and internet services. It has a new hospital which was built in 2008 along with modern hotels. In the academic side, It has nine private schools, four public schools and two high schools. In addition, the city is planning to build a university in this year. Furthermore, a new airport is also being constructed outside the city with ground being broken in 2009. A water supply network was built by the youngsters of the town in 2010.
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Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon (French: République du Cameroun), is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the Bight of Bonny, part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. The country is called "Africa in miniature" for its geological and cultural diversity. Natural features include beaches, deserts, mountains, rainforests, and savannas. The highest point is Mount Cameroon in the southwest, and the largest cities are Douala, Yaoundé, and Garoua. Cameroon is home to over 200 different linguistic groups. The country is well known for its native styles of music, particularly makossa and bikutsi, and for its successful national football team. French and English are the official languages.
Early inhabitants of the territory included the Sao civilisation around Lake Chad and the Baka hunter-gatherers in the southeastern rainforest. Portuguese explorers reached the coast in the 15th century and named the area Rio dos Camarões ("River of Prawns"), the name from which Cameroon derives. Fulani soldiers founded the Adamawa Emirate in the north in the 19th century, and various ethnic groups of the west and northwest established powerful chiefdoms and fondoms. Cameroon became a German colony in 1884.
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Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (English /kəˈnɛəri ˈaɪləndz/; Spanish: Islas Canarias [ˈizlas kaˈnaɾjas, ˈihlah kaˈnaɾjas]), also known as the Canaries (Spanish: Canarias), is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union. The islands include (from largest to smallest): Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro, La Graciosa, Alegranza, Isla de Lobos, Montaña Clara, Roque del Este and Roque del Oeste. The Canary Islands are legally recognized as a nationality of Spain. Geographically it is a part of the African Continent.[citation needed]
The archipelago's beaches, climate and important natural attractions, especially Teide National Park and Mount Teide (the third tallest volcano in the world measured from its base on the ocean floor), make it a major tourist destination, with over 12 million visitors per year, especially Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote. The islands have a subtropical climate, with long warm summers and moderately warm winters. Due to their location above the temperature inversion layer, these islands are ideal for astronomical observation. For this reason, two professional observatories, Teide Observatory on the island of Tenerife and Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on the island of La Palma, have been built on the islands.
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Cape Verde
Cape Verdei/ˌkeɪp ˈvɜrd/ (Portuguese: Cabo Verde, pronounced: [ˈkabu ˈveɾdɨ]), officially the Republic of Cape Verde, is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa. The islands, covering a combined area of slightly over 4,000 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi), are of volcanic origin and while three of them (Sal, Boa Vista and Maio) are fairly flat, sandy and dry, the remaining ones are generally rockier and have more vegetation. However, because of the infrequent occurrence of rainfall the overall landscape is not particularly green.
The name of the country stems from the nearby Cap Vert, on the Senegalese coast, which in its turn was originally named "Cabo Verde" when it was sighted by Portuguese explorers in 1444, a few years before the islands were discovered (verde is Portuguese for "green").
The previously uninhabited islands were discovered and colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th Century, and became important in the Atlantic slave trade for their location. The islands' prosperity often attracted privateers and pirates, including Sir Francis Drake, a corsair (privateer) under the authority of the British crown, who twice sacked the (then) capital Ribeira Grande, in the 1580s. The islands were also visited by Charles Darwin's expedition in 1832. The decline in the slave trade in the 19th century resulted in an economic crisis for the islands. With few natural resources, and without strong sustainable investment from the Portuguese, the citizens grew increasingly discontent with the colonial masters, who nevertheless refused to provide the local authorities with more autonomy. This discontent festered and culminated in 1975, when a movement originally led by Amílcar Cabral who was assassinated on 20 January 1973 then passed onto his half-brother Luís Cabral, achieved independence for the archipelago.
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Cardiff
Cardiff (i/ˈkɑrdɪf/; Welsh: Caerdydd (info) Welsh pronunciation: [kairˈdiːð, kaˑɨrˈdɨːð]) is the capital and largest city in Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for Wales. The unitary authority area's mid 2010 population was estimated to be 341,054, while the population of the Larger Urban Zone was estimated at 861,400 in 2009. Cardiff is a significant tourism centre and the most popular visitor destination in Wales with 18.3 million visitors in 2010. In 2011, Cardiff was ranked 6th in the world in National Geographic's alternative tourist destinations.
The city of Cardiff is the county town of the historic county of Glamorgan (and later South Glamorgan). Cardiff is part of the Eurocities network of the largest European cities. The Cardiff Urban Area covers a slightly larger area outside of the county boundary, and includes the towns of Dinas Powys and Penarth. A small town until the early 19th century, its prominence as a major port for the transport of coal following the arrival of industry in the region contributed to its rise as a major city.
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Ceuta
Ceuta (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈθeuta]) is an 18.5-square-kilometre (7.1 sq mi) autonomous city of Spain and an exclave located on the north coast of North Africa surrounded by Morocco. Separated from the Iberian peninsula by the Strait of Gibraltar, Ceuta lies on the border of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. After Spain returned Ifni to Morocco in 1969, Ceuta and Melilla remained the sole Spanish enclave territories within mainland Africa. Ceuta was deemed a part of Cadiz province prior to 14 March 1995, when the city's Statute of Autonomy was passed.
Ceuta (like Melilla) was a free port before Spain joined the European Union. As of 2011, it has a population of 78,674. Its population consists of Christians, Muslims (chiefly Moroccan Arabic speakers), and small minorities of Jews and Hindus. Spanish is the official language.
Morocco had previously called for negotiations on the future of Ceuta, Melilla and a number of Mediterranean islands and enclaves that border it. The majority of the city's population are ethnic Spanish who are opposed to the idea of being ruled by Morocco. A poll conducted by Instituto Opina found that 87.9% of people from mainland Spain consider the two cities to be Spanish.
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Chad
Chadi/ˈtʃæd/ (French: Tchad, Arabic: تشاد Tšād), officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west. Due to its distance from the sea and its largely desert climate, the country is sometimes referred to as the "Dead Heart of Africa".
Chad is divided into multiple regions: a desert zone in the north, an arid Sahelian belt in the centre and a more fertile Sudanese savanna zone in the south. Lake Chad, after which the country is named, is the largest wetland in Chad and the second largest in Africa. Chad's highest peak is the Emi Koussi in the Sahara, and N'Djamena, (formerly Fort-Lamy), the capital, is the largest city. Chad is home to over 200 different ethnic and linguistic groups. Arabic and French are the official languages. Islam and Christianity are the most widely practiced religions.
Beginning in the 7th millennium BC, human populations moved into the Chadian basin in great numbers. By the end of the 1st millennium BC, a series of states and empires rose and fell in Chad's Sahelian strip, each focused on controlling the trans-Saharan trade routes that passed through the region. France conquered the territory by 1920 and incorporated it as part of French Equatorial Africa.
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Chagos Archipelago
The Chagos Archipelago ( /ˈtʃɑːɡoʊs/ or /ˈtʃɑːɡəs/; formerly Bassas de Chagas and later also Oil Islands, known as Foalhavahi ފޯޅަވަހި in Dhivehi, as Phehandweep फेहंद्वीप in Hindi and other North Indian languages, and as Paeikaana Theevukal பேகான தீவுகள் in Tamil), is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 individual tropical islands in the Indian Ocean; situated some 500 kilometres (310 mi) due south of the Maldives archipelago. This chain of islands are the southernmost archipelago of the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge a long submarine mountain range in the Indian Ocean. The Chagos also form a terrestrial ecoregion together with the Maldives and the Lakshadweep. The islands and their surrounding waters are also a vast oceanic Environment Preservation and Protection Zone (EPPZ) (Fisheries Conservation and Management Zone (FCMZ) of 544,000 square kilometres (210,000 sq mi)), an area twice the size of the UK's land surface.
Officially part of the British Indian Ocean Territory, the Chagos were home to the Chagossians for more than a century and a half until the United Kingdom evicted them in the early 1970s in order to allow the United States to build a military base on Diego Garcia, the largest of the Chagos Islands. Since 1971, only the atoll of Diego Garcia is inhabited, and only by military and civilian contracted personnel.
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Christmas Island
Coordinates: 10°29′S 105°38′E / 10.483°S 105.633°E / -10.483; 105.633 The Territory of Christmas Island is a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. It is 2,600 kilometres (1,600 mi) northwest of the Western Australian city of Perth, 360 km (220 mi) south of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, 975 km (606 mi) ENE of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and 2,748 km (1,708 mi) west of the Territorian city of Darwin.
Christmas Island has a population of 1,403 residents who live in a number of "settlement areas" on the northern tip of the island: Flying Fish Cove (also known as Kampong), Silver City, Poon Saan, and Drumsite.
The island’s geographic isolation and history of minimal human disturbance has led to a high level of endemism among its flora and fauna, which is of significant interest to scientists and naturalists. 63% of its 135 square kilometres (52 sq mi) is an Australian national park. There exist large areas of primary monsoonal forest.
Phosphate, deposited originally as dead marine organisms (not guano as often thought), has been mined on the island for many years.
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Comoros
The Comorosi/ˈkɒməroʊz/ (Arabic: جزر القمر, Ǧuzur al-Qumur/Qamar), officially the Union of the Comoros (Comorian: Udzima wa Komori, French: Union des Comores, Arabic: الاتحاد القمري al-Ittiḥād al-Qumurī/Qamarī) is a sovereign, archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa, on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar. Other countries near to the Comoros are Tanzania to the northwest and the Seychelles to the northeast. The capital is Moroni on Grande Comore.
At 1,862 km2 (719 sq mi) (excluding Mayotte), the Comoros is the third-smallest African nation by area. The population (excluding Mayotte) is estimated at 798,000. Its name derives from the Arabic word قمر qamar ("moon"). The archipelago is notable for its diverse culture and history, as a nation formed at the crossroads of many civilizations. It is the southernmost member state of the Arab League. Though in the contested island of Mayotte the sole official language is French, the "Union of the Comoros" has three official languages: Comorian, Arabic, and French.
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Dilla
Dilla is a city located in the northwestern Awdal region of Somalia.
The major neighborhoods in Dilla are:
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Djibouti
Djibouti (Arabic: جيبوتي Jībūtī, French: Djibouti, Somali: Jabuuti, Afar: Gabuuti), officially the Republic of Djibouti (Arabic: جمهورية جيبوتي Jumhūriyyat Jībūtī, French: République de Djibouti, Afar: Gabuutih Ummuuno, Somali: Jamhuuriyadda Jabuuti), is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east. Djibouti, which had a population of 818,159 at the 2009 census, is one of the least populous countries in Africa.Islam is the largest religion in the country, practiced by 94% of the population. The land was known as Obock and French Somaliland (Côte française des Somalis) in the 19th century; in 1967, it changed its name to Afars and Issas after new treaties with France. The territory was declared an independent nation in 1977 and changed its name to the "Republic of Djibouti" after its principal city. Djibouti joined the United Nations on September 20, 1977. While Djibouti is an independent sovereign state, it maintains deep French relations, and through various military and economic agreements with France, it receives continued security and economic assistance.
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East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (tiˈmɔr ˈlɛʃteɪ), commonly known as East Timori/ˌiːst ˈtiːmɔr/ (Tetum: Timór Lorosa'e, Portuguese: Timor-Leste), is a sovereign state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor. The small country of 15,410 km² (5,400 sq mi) is located about 640 km (400 mi) northwest of Darwin, Australia.
East Timor was colonized by Portugal in the 16th century, and was known as Portuguese Timor until Portugal's decolonization of the country. In late 1975, East Timor declared its independence, but later that year was invaded and occupied by Indonesia and was declared Indonesia's 27th province the following year. In 1999, following the United Nations-sponsored act of self-determination, Indonesia relinquished control of the territory and East Timor became the first new sovereign state of the 21st century on May 20, 2002. East Timor is one of only two predominantly Roman Catholic countries in Asia, the other being the Philippines.
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Egypt
Egypti/ˈiːdʒɪpt/ (Arabic: مصر, Miṣr, Egyptian Arabic: [mɑsˤɾ] ; Coptic: Ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, Kīmi ; Sahidic Coptic: ⲕⲏⲙⲉ, Kēme), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: جمهوريّة مصر العربيّة (help·info), is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Covering an area of about 1,010,000 square kilometers (390,000 sq mi), Egypt is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west.
Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa and the Middle East. The great majority of its over 81 million people live near the banks of the Nile River, in an area of about 40,000 square kilometers (15,000 sq mi), where the only arable land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta.
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England
Englandi/ˈɪŋɡlənd/ is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, while the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separate it from continental Europe. Most of England comprises the central and southern part of the island of Great Britain in the North Atlantic. The country also includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight.
The area now called England was first inhabited by modern humans during the Upper Palaeolithic period, but it takes its name from the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in AD 927, and since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century, has had a significant cultural and legal impact on the wider world. The English language, the Anglican Church, and English law—the basis for the common law legal systems of many other countries around the world—developed in England, and the country's parliamentary system of government has been widely adopted by other nations. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the world's first industrialised nation. England's Royal Society laid the foundations of modern experimental science.
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Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country located in Middle Africa. It has two parts: a Continental Region (Río Muni), including several small offshore islands including Corisco, Elobey Grande and Elobey Chico; and an insular region containing Annobón island and Bioko island (formerly Fernando Po) where the capital Malabo is situated.
Annobón is the southernmost island of Equatorial Guinea and is situated just south of the equator. Bioko island is the northernmost point of Equatorial Guinea. Between the two islands and to the east is the mainland region. Equatorial Guinea is bordered by Cameroon on the north, Gabon on the south and east, and the Gulf of Guinea on the west, where the island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe is located between Bioko and Annobón. Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name is suggestive of its location near both the equator and the Gulf of Guinea. Besides the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla on the Mediterranean coast next to Morocco, it is the only territory in mainland Africa with Spanish as the official language.
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Erigavo
Erigavo or Erigabo (Somali: Ceerigaabo) is the administrative capital of the Sanaag region in northern Somalia.
Local control is disputed between Somaliland, a self-declared independent republic that is internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Somalia, the autonomous Puntland region in northeastern Somalia, and HBM-SSC (Hoggaanka Badbaadada iyo Mideynta SSC), a local unionist group whose goal is the creation of its own regional administration (Sool, Sanaag and Cayn or SSC).
Erigavo is also the seat of a handful of local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and governmental officials from Somaliland. The city has two hospitals, with one being constructed as of early 2009. In addition, a small airport lies to the east of the town. 10 km (6 m) to the north of Erigavo are the remains of a juniper forest, running along the edge of the escarpment which looks down to the Gulf of Aden. The escarpment is approximately 2,000 m (6,562 ft) above sea level, where the road from Erigavo drops down to the coast. 2 km (1.2 mi) to the west, it rises to the highest point in Somalia (2,416 m [7,927 ft]). Known variously as Shimbiris/Shimbir Beris (abode of the birds), Surad Cad, and other names, the peak was one of the locations where Sayyid Mohammed Abdullah Hassan built a fort, which was subsequently attacked and destroyed by British forces in 1920.
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Eritrea
Eritrea ( /ˌɛrɨˈtreɪ.ə/ or /ˌɛrɨˈtriːə/;Ge'ez: ኤርትራ ʾErtrā, Arabic: إرتريا Iritrīyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea is the Italian form of the Greek name Ἐρυθραίᾱ (Erythraíā), meaning "red [land]". The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast. The northeast and east of the country has an extensive coastline on the Red Sea, directly across from Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands are part of Eritrea. Eritrea's size is approximately 117,600 km2 (45,406 sq mi) with an estimated population of 6 million.
Together with northern Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and the Red Sea coast of Sudan, Eritrea is considered the most likely location of the land known to the ancient Egyptians as Punt (or "Ta Netjeru", meaning "God's Land"), whose first mention dates to the 25th century BC. The ancient Puntites were a nation of people that had close relations with Pharaonic Egypt during the times of Pharaoh Sahure and Queen Hatshepsut.
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Ethiopia
Ethiopia ( /ˌiːθiˈoʊpiə/) (Ge'ez: ኢትዮጵያ ʾĪtyōṗṗyā), officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2. Ethiopia is bordered by Eritrea to the north, Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the south. With its capital at Addis Ababa, it is also the most populous landlocked nation in the world.
Ethiopia was a monarchy for most of its history, and the Ethiopian dynasty traces its roots to the 2nd century BC. Ethiopia is also one of the oldest sites of human existence known to scientists today, having yielded some of humanity's oldest traces. It may be the region from which Homo sapiens first set out for the Middle East and points beyond. Alongside Rome, Persia, China and India, the Ethiopian Aksum Empire was considered one of the great world powers of the 3rd century. During the Scramble for Africa, Ethiopia was the only African country beside Liberia that retained its sovereignty as a recognized independent country, and was one of only four African members of the League of Nations. After a brief period of Italian occupation, Ethiopia became a charter member of the United Nations. When other African nations received their independence following World War II, many of them adopted the colors of Ethiopia's flag, and Addis Ababa became the location of several international organizations focused on Africa.
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France
France (Englishi/ˈfræns/ FRANSS or /ˈfrɑːns/ FRAHNSS; French: [fʁɑ̃s] (
listen)), officially the French Republic (French: République française [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is often referred to as l’Hexagone ("The Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory. It is the largest western European country and it possesses the second-largest exclusive economic zone in the world, covering 11,035,000 km2 (4,260,000 sq mi), just behind that of the United States (11,351,000 km2 / 4,383,000 sq mi).
Over the past 500 years, France has been a major power with strong cultural, economic, military and political influence in Europe and around the world. During the 17th and 18th centuries, France colonised great parts of North America and Southeast Asia; during the 19th and early 20th centuries, France built the second largest colonial empire of the time, including large portions of North, West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and many Caribbean and Pacific Islands.
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French Somaliland
French Somaliland (French: Côte française des Somalis, lit. "French Coast of Somalis", Arabic: الصومال الفرنسي Al-Soumal Al-Fransi) was a French colony in the Horn of Africa. Established after the French signed various treaties between 1883 and 1887 with the then ruling Somali Sultans, the colony lasted from 1896 until 1946, when it became an overseas territory of France. In 1967, French Somaliland was renamed the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas. In 1977, it became the independent country of Djibouti.
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Gabiley
Gabiley (Somali: Gabileh, Arabic: غابيلي) is a city in the northwestern Woqooyi Galbeed province of Somaliland, a self-declared republic that is internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Somalia.
Gabiley is located 54 km west of Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland. The capital of the Gabiley sub-region, it is bounded on the north by the Gulf of Aden on the west by the Awdal region, on the east by Hargeisa, and on the south by the Somali Region of Ethiopia.
Gabiley is renowned for its agricultural and farming industry and it is where most of the country's crops are produced. Some crops grown in the region are:
Gabiley is located 54km west of Hargeisa the capital of Somaliland and is the capital of Gabiley Region in the North West region of Somaliland.
Gabiley is one of the oldest area's in the country after Zeila, Berbera and Amud. Some stones left behind (known as Arabian stones) which were believed to have been earmarked for the construction of pyramids. Those stones lay undisturbed for a long period of time between the town and the boarding school built in 1950.
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Gabon
Gabon ( /ɡəˈbɒn/; French pronunciation: [ɡabɔ̃]), officially the Gabonese Republic (French: République Gabonaise) is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west. It covers a land area of nearly 270,000 km² and has an estimated population of 1,500,000. Its capital and largest city is Libreville.
Since its independence from France on August 17, 1960, Gabon has been ruled by three presidents. In the early 1990s, Gabon introduced a multi-party system and a new democratic constitution that allowed for a more transparent electoral process and reformed many governmental institutions. Gabon is also a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2010-2011 term.
Low population density together with abundant natural resources and foreign private investment have helped make Gabon one of the most prosperous countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, with the highest HDI and the third highest GDP per capita (PPP) (after Equatorial Guinea and Botswana) in the region.
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Galguduud
Galguduud is an administrative region (gobolka) in central Somalia.
It is bordered by Ethiopia, the Somalian regions of Mudug, Hiran, Shabeellaha Dhexe (Middle Shabele), and the Indian Ocean.
Galguduud's capital is Dhusamareb, and its largest city and commercial center is Abudwak.
The Galguduud region consists of the following districts:
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Galmudug
Galmudug is an autonomous region in central Somalia. It is bordered to its north by the Puntland region, to the west by Ethiopia, and to the south by other regions of Somalia.
Galmudug's name is derived from a conflation of the Galguduud and Mudug provinces. Unlike the secessionist Somaliland region in northwestern Somalia, Galmudug is not trying to obtain international recognition as a separate nation. It considers itself an autonomous state within the larger federal republic of Somalia, such as defined by the 2004 Transitional Federal Charter (TFG).
The Galmudug State is the most centrally located area in Somalia. It is equidistant from Galkacyo (the southern part of which forms the state capital) by 750 km to Mogadishu, Hargeisa, Bossaso and Harar in Ethiopia. It is bordered to the east by the Indian Ocean, to the west by Ethiopia, to the north by the Mudug region of Puntland, and to the south by the Galgaduud region.
For pre-colonial history, see Sultanate of Hobyo
Prior to June 6, 2006, the clans of central Somalia were part of the vast territories held by the "Mogadishu Warlords", the powerful businessmen-warlords who each ruled a district of Mogadishu and conducted their business there. Financial development, security and infrastructure were all funnelled into Mogadishu by these warlords and the regions of Mudug and Galgadud in particular became seriously neglected. For the Mogadishu warlords, Mudug and Galgadud was a place to import soldiers and livestock, Mogadishu was where to invest and develop.
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Gedo
Gedo (Somali: Geedo) is an administrative region (gobolka), formerly part of the historic Upper Juba Region in southern Somalia. Its regional capital is Garbahaarreey. Gedo is a region created in 1980s and is bordered by the Ogaden in Ethiopia, the North Eastern Province in Kenya, and the Somali regions of Bakool, Bay, Jubbada Dhexe (Middle Juba), and Jubbada Hoose (Lower Juba) further down east. The southern parts of Gedo, west of the Jubba River, used to be part of the old British Transjuba region during half of the seventy years of colonial era in Africa from 1890 to 1960. The British and Italians fought over twice in this area of Horn of Africa. Gedo region's population exploded in the last twenty years reaching almost one million in the early 1990s after the civil war erupted in Mogadishu.
Most of the newcomers to the region, suddenly left and resettled different parts of world. This immigration made Buuloxaawo the second largest district in Gedo. Luuq used to be the second largest city and district after Bardera. At one time Buuloxaawo District was the largest city and district in the region.
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Geography of Benin
Benin, a narrow, key-shaped, north-south strip of land in West Africa, lies between the Equator and the Tropic of Cancer. Benin's latitude ranges from 6°30′ N to 12°30′ N and its longitude from 1° E to 3°40′ E. Benin is bounded by Togo to the west, Burkina Faso and Niger to the north, Nigeria to the east, and the Bight of Benin to the south. With an area of 112,622 square kilometers, roughly the size of Pennsylvania and slightly bigger than Bulgaria, Benin extends from the Niger River in the north to the Atlantic Ocean in the south, a distance of 700 km (435 mi). Although the coastline measures 121 km (75 mi), the country measures about 325 km (202 mi) at its widest point. It is one of the smaller countries in West Africa, about one eighth the size of Nigeria, its neighbor to the east. It is, however, twice as large as Togo, its neighbor to the west. A relief map of Benin shows that it has little variation in elevation (average elevation 200 meters).
The country can be divided into four main areas from the south to the north. The low-lying, sandy, coastal plain (highest elevation 10 meters) is, at most, 10 km wide. It is marshy and dotted with lakes and lagoons communicating with the ocean. The plateaus of southern Benin (altitude comprised between 20 meters and 200 meters) are split by valleys running north to south along the Couffo, Zou, and Oueme Rivers, an area that has been categorised by the World Wildlife Fund as part of the Guinean forest-savanna mosaic ecoregion. Then an area of flat lands dotted with rocky hills whose altitude seldom reaches 400 meters extends around Nikki and Save. Finally, the Atacora mountain range extends along the northwest border and into Togo with the highest point, Mont Sokbaro, at 658 meters.
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Geography of Comoros
The Comoros archipelago consists of four main islands aligned along a northwest-southeast axis at the north end of the Mozambique Channel, between Mozambique and the island of Madagascar. Still widely known by their French names, the islands officially have been called by their Swahili names by the Comorian government. They are Njazidja (Grande Comore), Mwali (Mohéli), Nzwani (Anjouan), and Mahoré (Mayotte). The islands' distance from each other—Njazidja is some 200 kilometers from Mahoré, forty kilometers from Mwali, and eighty kilometers from Nzwani—along with a lack of good harbor facilities, make transportation and communication difficult. The islands have a total land area of 2,236 square kilometers (including Mahoré), and claim territorial waters of 320 square kilometers. Le Karthala (2316 m) on Grande Comore is an active volcano. From April 17 to 19, 2005, the volcano began spewing ash and gas, forcing as many as 10,000 people to flee.
Geographic coordinates: 12°10′S 44°15′E / 12.167°S 44.25°E / -12.167; 44.25 Wikimedia Atlas of Comoros
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Geography of Egypt
Coordinates: 27°00′N 30°00′E / 27°N 30°E / 27; 30
The Geography of Egypt relates to two regions: Southwest Asia and North Africa.
Egypt has coastlines on both the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. The country borders Libya to the west, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east, and Sudan to the south. Covering 1,001,449 km2, Egypt has a land area about the same as that of Texas and New Mexico combined, four times bigger than that of the United Kingdom, and twice as big as that of France. The longest straight-line distance in Egypt from north to south is 1,024 km, while that from east to west measures 1,240 km. More than 2,900 km of coastline on the Mediterranean Sea, the Gulf of Suez, the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea constitute Egypt's maritime boundaries.
Egypt is divided into twenty-six governorates (sometimes called provinces), which include four city governorates: Alexandria (Al Iskandariyah), Cairo (Al Qahirah), Port Said (Bur Said) and Suez. Also included are the nine governorates of Lower Egypt in the Nile Delta region, the eight governorates of Upper Egypt along the Nile River south from Cairo to Aswan, and the five frontier governorates covering Sinai and the deserts that lie west and east of the Nile.
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Geography of Lesotho
Coordinates: 29°30′S 28°30′E / 29.5°S 28.5°E / -29.5; 28.5
Lesotho is a mountainous, landlocked country located in Southern Africa. It is an enclave, surrounded by South Africa. The total length of the country's borders is 909 kilometres (565 mi). Lesotho covers an area of around 30,355 square kilometres (11,720 sq mi), of which a negligible percentage is covered with water.
The most notable geographic fact about Lesotho, apart from its status as an enclave, is that it is the only independent state in the world that lies entirely above 1,000 metres (3,281 ft) in elevation. Its lowest point is at 1,400 metres (4,593 ft), the highest lowest point of any country. Because of its elevation, the country's climate is cooler than in most other regions at the same latitude. Its climate zone can be classified as continental.
Lesotho is a country in Southern Africa, located at around 29°30' south latitude and 28°30' east longitude. It is the 141st largest country in the world, with a total land area of 30,355 square kilometres (11,720 sq mi), of which a negligible percentage is covered with water. Lesotho is completely surrounded by South Africa, making it one of only three countries in the world that are enclaves within another country; the other two are San Marino and Vatican City, both located within Italy. The total length of the South African border is 909 kilometres (565 mi). Lesotho's status as an enclave also means that it is landlocked and largely dependent on South Africa. The nearest major shipping port is Durban.
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Geography of Libya
Coordinates: 25°00′N 17°00′E / 25°N 17°E / 25; 17
Libya is fourth in size among the countries of Africa and seventeenth among the countries of the world. Its coastline lies between Egypt and Tunisia. Although the oil discoveries of the 1960s have brought it immense petroleum wealth, at the time of its independence it was an extremely poor desert state whose only important physical asset appeared to be its strategic location at the midpoint of Africa's northern rim. It lay within easy reach of the major European nations and linked the Arab countries of North Africa with those of the Middle East, facts that throughout history had made its urban centers bustling crossroads rather than isolated backwaters without external social influences. Consequently, an immense social gap developed between the cities, cosmopolitan and peopled largely by foreigners, and the desert hinterland, where tribal chieftains ruled in isolation and where social change was minimal.
The Mediterranean coast and the Sahara Desert are the country's most prominent natural features. There are several highlands but no true mountain ranges except in the largely empty southern desert near the Chadian border, where the Tibesti Massif rises to over 2,200 meters. A relatively narrow coastal strip and highland steppes immediately south of it are the most productive agricultural regions. Still farther south a pastoral zone of sparse grassland gives way to the vast Sahara Desert, a barren wasteland of rocky plateaus and sand. It supports minimal human habitation, and agriculture is possible only in a few scattered oases.
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Geography of Mayotte
Mayotte is an island of volcanic origin in the northernmost Mozambique Channel, about one-half of the way from northern Madagascar to northern Mozambique. Mayotte is part of the Comoro Islands, and like them is the result of a former hot spot, the oldest of the Comoros archipelago, formed about 7.7 mya.Mayotte has an area of 374 square kilometres, and a coastline of length 185.2 km. Its maritime claims are an exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles, and a territorial sea of 12 nm.
The terrain of the island is undulating, with deep ravines and ancient volcanic peaks. The lowest point is the Indian Ocean, and the highest is Benara, at 660 m.
The climate of Mayotte is a tropical, marine climate. Between November and May, there is a hot, humid and rainy season, during the northeastern monsoon. At this time of the year, a hazard is posed by cyclones. Between May and November, there is a cooler, dry season.
Wikimedia Atlas of Mayotte
Coordinates: 12°50′S 45°10′E / 12.833°S 45.167°E / -12.833; 45.167
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Geography of Morocco
The geography of Morocco spans from the Atlantic Ocean, to mountainous areas, to the Sahara (desert). Morocco is a Northern African country, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
A large part of Morocco is mountainous. The Atlas Mountains are located mainly in the center and the south of the country. The Rif Mountains are located in the north of the country. Both ranges are mainly inhabited by the Berber people.
Geography statistics Coordinates: 32°00′N 5°00′W / 32°N 5°W / 32; -5
Map references: Africa
Area:
total: 446,550 km²
land: 446,550 km²
water: 250 km²
Area - comparative: slightly larger than California
Land boundaries:
total: 2 017.9 km
border countries: Algeria 1 559 km, Mauritania (de facto) 1561 km, Spain (Ceuta) 6.3 km, Spain (Melilla) 9.6 km
Coastline: 1 835 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nmi (44.4 km; 27.6 mi)
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nmi (370.4 km; 230.2 mi)
territorial sea: 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi)
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Geography of Namibia
At 825,418 km2 (318,696 sq mi), Namibia is the world's thirty-fourth largest country (after Venezuela). After Mongolia, Namibia is the least densely populated country in the world (2.5 inhabitants per square kilometre (6.5 /sq mi)).
The Namibian landscape consists generally of five geographical areas, each with characteristic abiotic conditions and vegetation with some variation within and overlap between them: the Central Plateau, the Namib Desert, the Great Escarpment, the Bushveld, and the Kalahari Desert.
The Central Plateau runs from north to south, bordered by the Skeleton Coast to the northwest, the Namib Desert and its coastal plains to the southwest, the Orange River to the south, and the Kalahari Desert to the east. The Central Plateau is home to the highest point in Namibia at Königstein elevation 2,606 meters (8,550 ft). Within the wide, flat Central Plateau is the majority of Namibia’s population and economic activity. Windhoek, the nation’s capital, is located here, as well as most of the arable land. Although arable land accounts for only 1% of Namibia, nearly half of the population is employed in agriculture.
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Geography of Nigeria
Nigeria is a country in West Africa. Nigeria shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in the north. Its coast lies on the Gulf of Guinea in the south and it borders Lake Chad to the northeast. Noted geographical features in Nigeria include the Adamawa highlands, Mambilla Plateau, Jos Plateau, Obudu Plateau, the Niger River, River Benue and Niger Delta.
Nigeria is found in the Tropics, where the climate is seasonally damp and very humid. Nigeria is affected by four climate types; these climate types are distinguishable, as one moves from the southern part of Nigeria to the northern part of Nigeria through Nigeria's middle belt.
The Tropical rainforest climate or the Equatorial monsoon, designated by the Köppen climate classification as "Af", is found in the southern part of the country. This climate is influenced by the monsoons originating from the South Atlantic ocean, which is brought into the country by the (maritime tropical) MT airmass, a warm moist sea to land seasonal wind.Its warmth and high humidity gives it a strong tendency to ascend and produce copious rainfall, which is a result of the condensation of water vapour in the rapidly rising air.
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Geography of Rwanda
Rwanda is a landlocked country located in Central Africa, to the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its countryside consists of grasslands and rolling hills, and it has a temperate climate.
Rwanda borders Burundi for 290 km, the Democratic Republic of the Congo for 217 km, Tanzania for 217 km, and Uganda for 169 km.
Rwanda has an area of 26 thousands square kilometers, of which 3 percent is water.
Although Rwanda is located only two degrees south of the equator, Rwanda's high elevation makes the climate temperate. The average daily temperature near Lake Kivu, at an altitude of 4,800 feet (1,463 m) is 73 °F (22.8 °C). During the two rainy seasons (February-May and September-December), heavy downpours occur almost daily, alternating with sunny weather. Annual rainfall averages 800 mm (31.5 in) but is generally heavier in the western and northwestern mountains than in the eastern savannas.
Rwanda possesses the following natural resources:
The use of land in Rwanda is largely for arable land, and other purposes. 40 km² of land in Rwanda is irrigated. The table below describes the land use in Rwanda, as of 2005.
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Geography of Réunion
Réunion is an island in Southern Africa, in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar. It is an overseas region of France. The total area of the island is 2,512 km², of which 10 km² is water. The island has a coastline of 207 km. The maritime claims of Réunion include an exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles, and a territorial sea of 12 nautical miles (22 km).
The climate in Réunion is tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation. The weather is cool and dry from May to November, and hot and rainy from November to April. The terrain is mostly rugged and mountainous, with fertile lowlands along the coast. The lowest point is the Indian Ocean and the highest is Piton des Neiges at 3,069 m.
Réunion's natural resources are fish, arable land and hydropower. As of 1993, 60 km² of the land is irrigated. The use of the land, as of 1993, is described in the table below:
Local natural hazards include: periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April), and Piton de la Fournaise (2,631 m) on the southeastern coast is an active volcano.
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Geography of Somalia
Africa's easternmost country. Somalia has a land area of 637,540 square kilometers. Somalia occupies the tip of a region commonly referred to as the Horn of Africa (because of its resemblance on the map to a rhinoceros' horn) that also includes Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti. Somalia's terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains, and highlands. In the far north, however, the rugged east-west ranges of the Karkaar Mountains lie at varying distances from the Gulf of Aden coast. The weather is hot throughout the year, except at the higher elevations in the north. Rainfall is sparse, and most of Somalia has a semiarid-to- arid environment suitable only for the nomadic pastoralism practiced by well over half the population. Only in limited areas of moderate rainfall in the northwest, and particularly in the southwest, where the country's two perennial rivers are found, is agriculture practiced to any extent.
The local geology suggests the presence of valuable mineral deposits. Somalia's long coastline, more than 3,300 kilometers, the longest coastline of Africa and the Middle East. has been of importance chiefly in permitting trade with the Middle East and the rest of the Horn of Africa.
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Ghana
Ghanai/ˈɡɑːnə/ is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south. The word Ghana means "Warrior King" and is derived from the ancient Ghana Empire.
Ghana was inhabited in pre-colonial times by a number of ancient predominantly Akan kingdoms, including the inland Ashanti Empire, the Akwamu, the Akyem, the Bonoman, the Denkyira, and the Fante among others. Non-Akan states created by the Ga also existed as did states by the Dagomba. Prior to contact with Europeans trade between the Akan and various African states flourished due to Akan's gold wealth. Trade with European states began after contact with the Portuguese in the 15th century, and the British established the Gold Coast Crown colony in 1874 over parts but not all of the country.
The Gold Coast achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1957, becoming the First sub-Saharan African nation to do so from European Colonialism. The name Ghana was chosen for the new nation to reflect the ancient Empire of Ghana, which once extended throughout much of west Africa.
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Greenwich
Coordinates: 51°28′45″N 0°00′00″E / 51.4791°N 0.0000°E / 51.4791; 0.0000
Greenwich (UKi/ɡrɪnɪdʒ/ GRIN-ij; US /ɡrɛnɪtʃ/ GREN-ich or /ɡrɛnɪdʒ/ GREN-ij) is a district of south London, England, located in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and situated 5.5 miles (8.9 km) east south-east of Charing Cross.
Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian (0° longitude) and Greenwich Mean Time. The town became the site of a royal palace, the Palace of Placentia from the 15th century, and was the birthplace of many in the House of Tudor, including Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. The palace fell into disrepair during the English Civil War and was rebuilt as the Royal Naval Hospital for Sailors by Sir Christopher Wren and his assistant Nicholas Hawksmoor. These buildings became the Royal Naval College in 1873, and they remained an establishment for military education until 1998 when they passed into the hands of the Greenwich Foundation. The historic rooms within these buildings remain open to the public; other buildings are used by University of Greenwich and the Trinity College of Music.
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Guinea
Guineai/ˈɡɪni/, officially the Republic of Guinea (French: République de Guinée), is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea (Guinée française), it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau and the Republic of Equatorial Guinea. Guinea has almost 246,000 square kilometres (94,981 sq mi) and a population of 10,057,975. It forms a crescent by curving from its western border on the Atlantic Ocean toward the east and the south. Its northern border is shared with Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, and Mali, the southern one with Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Côte d'Ivoire. The Niger River's source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea.
Guinea is geographically divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures. Conakry is the capital, largest city and economic centre. The other major cities in the country include Kankan, Nzérékoré, Kindia, Labe, Guéckédou, Mamou and Boke.
Guinea's 10 million people belong to twenty-four ethnic groups. The largest and most prominent groups are the Fula 40%, Mandingo 30%, and Susu 20%.
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Gulf of Aden
The Gulf of Aden (Arabic: خليج عدن Ḫalīǧ ʻAdan, Somali: Gacanka Cadmeed) is a gulf located in the Arabian Sea between Yemen, on the south coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and Somalia in the Horn of Africa. In the northwest, it connects with the Red Sea through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, which is about 20 miles wide.
The waterway is part of the important Suez canal shipping route between the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian Sea in the Indian Ocean with 21,000 ships crossing the gulf annually. The gulf is known by the nickname "Pirate Alley" due to the large amount of pirate activity in the area.
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Gulf of Aden as follows:
On the Northwest. The Southern limit of the Red Sea [A line joining Husn Murad (12°40′N 43°30′E / 12.667°N 43.5°E / 12.667; 43.5) and Ras Siyan (12°29′N 43°20′E / 12.483°N 43.333°E / 12.483; 43.333)].
On the East. The meridian of Cape Guardafui (Ras Asir, 51°16'E).
The temperature of the Gulf of Aden varies between 15 °C (59 °F) and 28 °C (82 °F), depending on the season and the appearance of monsoons. The salinity of the gulf at 10 metres (33 ft) depth varies from 35.3 ‰ along the eastern Somali coast to as high as 37.3 ‰ in the gulf's center, while the oxygen content in the Gulf of Aden at the same depth is typically between 4.0 and 5.0 mg/L.
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Hargeisa
Hargeisa (Somali: Hargaysa, Arabic: هرجيسا) is a the second-largest city in Somalia, located in the Woqooyi Galbeed region. Hargeisa is the capital of Somaliland, a self-declared republic that is internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Somalia. It was the colonial capital of the British Somaliland protectorate from 1941 to 1960, when it gained independence as the State of Somaliland and united with Italian Somaliland to form the Somali Republic.
The city is situated in a valley in the Galgodon (Ogo) highlands, and sits at an elevation of 4,377 feet (1,334 m). Home to rock art from the Neolithic period, Hargeisa is also a commercial hub for precious stone-cutting, construction, retail services and importing/exporting, among other activities.
Numerous cave paintings from the Neolithic period are found in the Laas Gaal complex, on the outskirts of Hargeisa. During November and December 2002, an archaeological survey was carried out in the area by a French team of researchers. The expedition's objective was to search for rock shelters and caves containing stratified archaeological infills capable of documenting the period when production economy appeared in this part of Somalia (circa 5,000 and 2,000 BCE). During the course of the survey, the French archaeological team discovered the Laas Gaal rock art, encompassing an area of ten rock alcoves (caves). In an excellent state of preservation, the paintings show human figures with their hands raised and facing long-horned, humpless cattle.
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Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa (Amharic: የአፍሪካ ቀንድ?, Arabic: القرن الأفريقي, Somali: Geeska Afrika, Tigrinya: ቀርኒ ኣፍሪቃ?) (alternatively Northeast Africa, and sometimes Somali Peninsula; shortened to HOA) is a peninsula in East Africa that juts hundreds of kilometers into the Arabian Sea and lies along the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. It is the easternmost projection of the African continent. Referred to in ancient and medieval times as Bilad al Barbar ("Land of the Berbers"), the Horn of Africa denotes the region containing the countries of Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia.
It covers approximately 2,000,000 km² (770,000 sq mi) and is inhabited by roughly 100 million people (Ethiopia: 85 million, Somalia: 9.3 million, Eritrea: 5.2 million, and Djibouti: 0.86 million). Regional studies on the Horn of Africa are carried out, among others, in the fields of Ethiopian Studies as well as Somali Studies.
The Horn of Africa is almost equidistant from the equator and the Tropic of Cancer. It consists chiefly of mountains uplifted through the formation of the Great Rift Valley, a fissure in the Earth's crust extending from Turkey to Mozambique and marking the separation of the African and Arabian tectonic plates. Most of the region is mountainous which arose through faults resulting from the Rift Valley, with the highest peaks in the Semien Mountains of northwestern Ethiopia.[citation needed]
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India
India (i/ˈɪndiə/), officially the Republic of India (Bhārat Gaṇarājya), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west;China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Burma and Bangladesh to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.
Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four of the world's major religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here, whereas Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium CE and also helped shape the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by and brought under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom from the mid-19th century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi.
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Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula (or, more generally, by southern and western Asia); on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, by Antarctica). The ocean is named after the geographic location of India.
As one component of the interconnected global ocean, the Indian Ocean is delineated from the Atlantic Ocean by the 20° east meridian running south from Cape Agulhas, and from the Pacific by the meridian of 146°55' east. The northernmost extent of the Indian Ocean is approximately 30° north in the Persian Gulf. This ocean is nearly 10,000 kilometres (6,200 mi) wide at the southern tips of Africa and Australia; its area is 73,556,000 square kilometres (28,350,000 sq mi), including the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.
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Indonesia
Indonesia (i/ˌɪndəˈniːʒə/ IN-də-NEE-zhə or /ˌɪndoʊˈniːziə/ IN-doh-NEE-zee-ə), officially the Republic of Indonesia (Indonesian: Republik Indonesia Indonesian pronunciation: [rɛpʊblɪk ɪndɔnɛsɪa]), is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 17,508 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an elected legislature and president. The nation's capital city is Jakarta. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Malaysia. Other neighboring countries include Singapore, Philippines, Australia, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Indonesia is a founding member of ASEAN and a member of the G-20 major economies. The Indonesian economy is the world's 17th largest economy by nominal GDP.
The Indonesian archipelago has been an important trade region since at least the 7th century, when Srivijaya and then later Majapahit traded with China and India. Local rulers gradually absorbed foreign cultural, religious and political models from the early centuries CE, and Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms flourished. Indonesian history has been influenced by foreign powers drawn to its natural resources. Muslim traders brought Islam, and European powers brought Christianity and fought one another to monopolize trade in the Spice Islands of Maluku during the Age of Discovery. Following three and a half centuries of Dutch colonialism, Indonesia secured its independence after World War II. Indonesia's history has since been turbulent, with challenges posed by natural disasters, corruption, separatism, a democratization process, and periods of rapid economic change.
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Iran
Coordinates: 32°N 53°E / 32°N 53°E / 32; 53
Iran (i/ɪˈrɑːn/ or /aɪˈræn/;Persian: ایران [ʔiˈɾɒn] ( listen)), officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian: جمهوری اسلامی ایران Jomhuri-ye Eslāmi-ye Irān), is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran", which in Persian means "Land of the Aryans", has been in use natively since the Sassanian era. It came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia ( /ˈpɜrʒə/ or /ˈpɜrʃə/). Both "Persia" and "Iran" are used interchangeably in cultural contexts; however, "Iran" is the name used officially in political contexts.
The 18th-largest country in the world in terms of area at 1,648,195 km2 (636,372 sq mi), Iran has a population of around 79 million. It is a country of particular geopolitical significance owing to its location in the Middle East and central Eurasia. Iran is bordered on the north by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. As Iran is a littoral state of the Caspian Sea, which is an inland sea, Kazakhstan and Russia are also Iran's direct neighbors to the north. Iran is bordered on the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan, on the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by Iraq and on the northwest by Turkey. Tehran is the capital, the country's largest city and the political, cultural, commercial and industrial center of the nation. Iran is a regional power, and holds an important position in international energy security and world economy as a result of its large reserves of petroleum and natural gas. Iran has the second largest proven natural gas reserves in the world and the fourth largest proven petroleum reserves.
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Iraq
Iraq (/ɪˈræk/ ori/ɪˈrɑːk/; Arabic: العراق al-‘Irāq); officially the Republic of Iraq (Arabic: جمهورية العراق (help·info) Jumhūriyyat al-‘Irāq), is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.
Iraq borders Syria to the northwest, Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, Jordan to the southwest and Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to the south. Iraq has a narrow section of coastline measuring 58 km (36 mi) on the northern Persian Gulf. The capital city, Baghdad is in the center-east of the country.
Two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, run through the center of Iraq, flowing from northwest to southeast. These provide Iraq with agriculturally capable land and contrast with the steppe and desert landscape that covers most of Western Asia.
Historically, Iraq was the center of the Abbasid Arabic Islamic Empire. Iraq has been known to the west by the Greek toponym 'Mesopotamia' (Land between the rivers) and has been home to continuous successive civilizations since the 6th millennium BC. The region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers is often referred to as the cradle of civilization and the birthplace of writing, law and the wheel. At different periods in its history, Iraq was the center of the indigenous Akkadian, Sumerian, Assyrian, Babylonian, and Abbasid empires. It was also part of the Achaemenid, Hellenistic, Parthian, Sassanid, Roman, Rashidun, Umayyad, Mongol, Safavid, Afsharid, and Ottoman empires, and under British control as a League of Nations mandate.
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Islamic Courts Union
The Islamic Courts Union (ICU) (Somali: Midowga Maxkamadaha Islaamiga, Arabic: اتحاد المحاكم الإسلامية, Ittihād al-mahākim al-islāmiyya) was a group of Sharia Courts who united themselves to form a rival administration to the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia, with Sharif Sheikh Ahmed as head of the ICU. They are also known as the Joint Islamic Courts, Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), Supreme Islamic Courts Council (SICC) or the Supreme Council of Islamic Courts (SCIC). Western media often refer to the group as Somali Islamists.
Until the end of 2006, they controlled most of southern Somalia and the vast majority of its population, including most major cities such as Jowhar, Kismayo, Beledweyne, and the capital Mogadishu. The ICU was supported by warlord Yusuf "Indho Ade" Mohamed Siad who ruled Lower Shabelle but later became defense chief of the ICU, who aided in the defeat of the Mogadishu warlords. Only the Northern regions (Puntland, Somaliland), and the furthest interior regions of the south were outside their control. In December 2006, the ICU lost much territory after defeats at the battles of Baidoa, Bandiradley, and Beledweyne, retreating to the capital, Mogadishu. On December 28 they abandoned Mogadishu, leaving the city in chaos while they moved south towards Kismayo, which allowed the TFG and Ethiopian troops to take over the city. After a stand at the Battle of Jilib, the ICU abandoned the city of Kismayo on January 1, 2007. Stripped of almost all their territory, it was speculated the ICU would pursue guerrilla-style warfare against the government.
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Israel
Coordinates: 31°N 35°E / 31°N 35°E / 31; 35
Israel, officially the State of Israel ( /ˈɪzriːəl/ or /ˈɪzreɪəl/; Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Medīnat Yisrā'el, IPA: [me̞diˈnät jisʁäˈʔe̞l] ( listen); Arabic: دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل, Dawlat Isrāʼīl, IPA: [dawlat ʔisraːˈʔiːl]), is a parliamentary republic in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan and the West Bank in the east, Egypt and the Gaza Strip on the southwest, and the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea to the south, and it contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. Israel is defined as a Jewish and Democratic State in its Basic Laws and is the world's only Jewish-majority state.
Following the adoption of a resolution by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 29 November 1947 recommending the adoption and implementation of the United Nations plan to partition Palestine, on 14 May 1948 David Ben-Gurion, the Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization and president of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, declared the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, to be known as the State of Israel, a state independent from the British Mandate for Palestine. Neighboring Arab states invaded the next day in support of the Palestinian Arabs. Israel has since fought several wars with neighboring Arab states, in the course of which it has occupied the West Bank, Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights. Portions of these territories, including east Jerusalem, have been annexed by Israel, but the border with the neighboring West Bank has not yet been permanently defined.[neutrality is disputed] Israel has signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, but efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have so far not resulted in peace.
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Italy
Italyi/ˈɪtəli/ (Italian: Italia [iˈtaːlja]), officially the Italian Republic or the Republic of Italy (Italian: Repubblica italiana), is a unitary parliamentary republic in south-central Europe. To the north, it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia along the Alps. To the south, it consists of the entirety of the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Sardinia–the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea–and many other smaller islands. The independent states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within Italy, while Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland. The territory of Italy covers some 301,338 km2 (116,347 sq mi) and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With 60.6 million inhabitants, it is the fifth most populous country in Europe, and the 23rd most populous in the world.
Rome, the capital of Italy, was for centuries a political and religious centre of Western civilisation as the capital of the Roman Empire and site of the Holy See. After the decline of the Roman Empire, Italy endured numerous invasions by foreign peoples, from Germanic tribes such as the Lombards and Ostrogoths, to the Byzantines and later, the Normans, among others. Centuries later, Italy became the birthplace of Maritime republics and the Renaissance, an immensely fruitful intellectual movement that would prove to be integral in shaping the subsequent course of European thought.
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Jordan
Jordan ( /ˈdʒɔr.dən/;Arabic: اَلأُرْدُنّ, Al-'Urdunn), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (Arabic: اَلمَمْلَكَة اَلأُرْدُنِيَّة اَلهَاشِمِيَّة), Al-Mamlakah Al-Urdaniyyah Al-Hashimiyyah) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing control of the Dead Sea with the latter. Jordan's only port is at its south-western tip, at the Gulf of Aqaba, which is shared with Israel, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. Over half of Jordan is covered by the Arabian Desert. However, the western part of Jordan is arable land and forests. Jordan is part of the Fertile Crescent. The capital city is Amman. According to the CIA World Factbook, Jordan has the second highest life expectancy in the Middle East, after Israel. The average life expectancy is one position behind the United Kingdom, although the age remains exactly the same (80.05 years).
The precursor to modern Jordan was founded in 1921 as the Hashemite Emirate, and it was recognized by the League of Nations as a state under the British mandate in 1922 known as The Emirate of Transjordan. In 1946, Jordan became an independent sovereign state officially known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan. After capturing the West Bank area of Cisjordan during the 1948–49 war with Israel, Abdullah I took the title King of Jordan and Palestine, and he officially changed the country's name to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in April 1949.
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Jubaland
Jubaland (Somali: Jubbaland, Arabic: جوبالاند), also known as Azania or the Juba Valley (Somali: Dooxada Jubba) and formerly as Trans-Juba (Italian: Oltre Giuba), is an autonomous region in southern Somalia. Its eastern border lies 40–60 km east of the Jubba River, stretching from Gedo to the Indian Ocean, while its western side flanks the North Eastern Province in Kenya.
Jubaland's total population is estimated at 1.3 million inhabitants. As of 2005, its constituent administrative regions of Gedo, Lower Juba and Middle Juba had estimated populations of 690,000, 400,000 and 240,000 residents, respectively.
The territory has a total area of 87,000 km² (33,000 sq mi). Its main city is Kismayo, which is situated on the coast near the mouth of the Jubba river. Bardera, Afmadow, Bu'aale and Beled Haawo are the other principal cities in the region.
In antiquity, the Jubaland region's various port cities and harbours, such as Essina and Sarapion, were an integral part of global trade. During the Middle Ages, the influential Somali Ajuuraan State held sway over the territory, followed in turn by the Geledi Sultanate. From 1836 until 1861, parts of Jubaland were claimed by the Sultanate of Muscat (now in Oman), and were later incorporated into British East Africa. In 1925, Jubaland was ceded to Italy, forming a part of Italian Somaliland. On 1 July 1960, the region, along with the rest of Italian Somaliland and British Somaliland, became part of the independent republic of Somalia.
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Kampala
Kampala is the largest city and capital of Uganda. The city is divided into five boroughs that oversee local planning: Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division and Lubaga Division. The city is coterminous with Kampala District.
Mutesa I, the Kabaka (king) of Buganda, had chosen the area that was to become Kampala as one of his favorite hunting grounds. The area was made up of hills and wetlands. It was an ideal breeding ground for various game, particularly a species of antelope, the impala (Aepyceros melampus).
The city grew as the capital of the Buganda kingdom, from which several buildings survive, including the Kasubi Tombs (built in 1881), the Lubiri Palace, the Buganda Parliament and the Buganda Court of Justice. Severely damaged in the Uganda-Tanzania War, the city has since then been rebuilt with constructions of new buildings including hotels, banks, shopping malls, educational institutions, hospitals and improvement of war torn buildings and infrastructure. Traditionally, Kampala was a city of seven hills, but over time it has come to have a lot more.
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Kenya
Kenya ( /ˈkɛnjə/ or /ˈkiːnjə/), officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator. With the Indian Ocean to its south-east, it is bordered by Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, South Sudan to the north-west, Ethiopia to the north and Somalia to the north-east. Kenya has a land area of 580,000 km2 and a population of nearly 41 million, representing 42 different peoples and cultures. The country is named after Mount Kenya, a significant landmark and second among Africa's highest mountain peaks. Kenya's capital and largest city is Nairobi.
Kenya has a warm and humid climate along its coastline on the Indian Ocean which changes to wildlife-rich savannah grasslands moving inland towards the capital Nairobi. Nairobi has a cool climate that gets colder approaching Mount Kenya, which has three permanently snow-capped peaks. The warm and humid tropical climate reappears further inland towards lake Victoria, before giving way to temperate forested and hilly areas in the western region. The North Eastern regions along the border with Somalia and Ethiopia are arid and semi-arid areas with near-desert landscapes. Lake Victoria, the world's second largest fresh-water lake (after Lake Superior in the US and Canada) and the world's largest tropical lake, is situated to the southwest and is shared with Uganda and Tanzania. Kenya is famous for its safaris and diverse world-famous wildlife reserves such as Tsavo National Park, the Maasai Mara, Nakuru National Park, and Aberdares National Park.
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Kuwait
Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwaiti/kuːˈweɪt/ (Arabic: دولة الكويت, Dawlat al-Kuwayt) is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the Arabic أكوات ākwāt, the plural of كوت kūt, meaning a fortress built near water. The country covers an area of 17,820 square kilometers (6,880 sq mi) and has a population of about 3.5 million.
Historically, the region was the site of Characene, a major Parthian port for trade between Mesopotamia and India. The Bani Utbah tribe were the first permanent Arab settlers in the region, and laid the foundation of the modern emirate. By the 19th century, Kuwait came under the influence of the Ottoman Empire, and after World War I, it emerged as an independent sheikhdom under the protection of the British Empire. Kuwait's large oil fields were discovered in the late 1930s.
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Laas Gaal
Laas Gaal (Somali: Laasgeel) is a complex of caves and rock shelters in Somaliland, a self-declared republic that is internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Somalia. Famous for their rock art, the caves are located in a rural area on the outskirts of Hargeisa. They contain some of the earliest known cave paintings in the Horn of Africa. Laas Gaal's rock art is estimated to date back to somewhere between 3,500–2,800 calBC
The Laas Geel site contains granite caves sheltering about ten rock alcoves decorated with "Neolithic" cave paintings. The caves are located on the ouskirts of Hargeisa, in an area encompassing a nomadic village, the Naasa Hablood hills. The site overlooks a wide district of countryside, where nomads graze their livestock and wild antelopes roam the vast landscape.
Probably nomads poeple used the caves as a shelter when it rained and never paid much attention to the paintings. The site is now guarded by local residents.
During November and December 2002, an archaeological survey was carried out in northern Somalia by a French team of researchersof the university of Montpellier 2 (south France). The expedition's objective was to search for rock shelters and caves containing stratified archaeological infills capable of documenting the period when production economy appeared in this part of the Horn of Africa (circa 5,000 and 2,000 calBC). During the course of the survey, the French archaeological team discovered the Laas Geel cave paintings, encompassing an area of ten rock alcoves (caves). In an excellent state of preservation, the paintings show ancient humans of the area raising their hands and worshipping humpless cows with large lyre-shaped horns.
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Las Anod
Las Anod (Somali: Laascaanood, Arabic: لاسعنود) is the administrative capital of Sool region of Somalia. The city was part of the Dervish State until 1921, when it was incorporated into the former British Somaliland protectorate.
Local control is disputed between Somaliland, a self-declared independent republic that is internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Somalia, the autonomous Puntland region in northeastern Somalia, and HBM-SSC (Hoggaanka Badbaadada iyo Mideynta SSC), a local unionist group whose goal is the creation of its own regional administration (Sool, Sanaag and Cayn or SSC).
Las Anod is strategically positioned along trade routes in northwestern Somalia. The city is almost surrounded by hills and has considerable water resources, the latter of which makes it a prime destination for peoples from other parts of generally arid Somalia as well as from neighboring countries such as Djibouti and Ethiopia.
Las Anod is one of the largest cities in Somalia, having grown in size from 20,000 inhabitants in 1990 to 60,000 in 2001. Prior to 1991, the city was a small town. However, it has now expanded to the point where travelers require public transportation to navigate the city's 10 neighborhoods.
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Lesotho
Lesotho (i/lɨˈsuːtuː/ li-SOO-too), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, completely surrounded by its only neighboring country, the Republic of South Africa. It is just over 30,000 km2 (11,583 sq mi) in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name Lesotho translates roughly into the land of the people who speak Sesotho. About 40% of the population live below the international poverty line of US $1.25 a day.
The earliest known inhabitants of the area were Khoisan hunter-gatherers. They were largely replaced by Wasja-speaking tribes during Bantu migrations. The Sotho-Tswana people colonized the general region of South Africa between the 3rd and 11th centuries.
The present Lesotho (then called Basutoland) emerged as a single polity under king Moshoeshoe I in 1822. Moshoeshoe, a son of Mokhachane, a minor chief of the Bakoteli lineage, formed his own clan and became a chief around 1804. Between 1821 and 1823, he and his followers settled at the Butha-Buthe Mountain, joining with former adversaries in resistance against the Lifaqane associated with the reign of Shaka Zulu from 1818 to 1828.[citation needed]
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Liberia
Liberiai/laɪˈbɪəriə/, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Ivory Coast on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open to a plateau of drier grasslands. The country possesses 40% of the remaining Upper Guinean rainforest. Liberia has a hot equatorial climate, with significant rainfall during the May to October rainy season and harsh harmattan winds the remainder of the year. Liberia covers an area of 111,369 km2 (43,000 sq mi) and is home to about 3.7 million people. English is the official language, while over 30 indigenous languages are spoken within the country.
Along with Ethiopia, Liberia is one of the two modern countries in Sub-Saharan Africa without roots in the European colonization of Africa. Beginning in 1820, the region was colonized by freed American slaves with the help of the American Colonization Society, a private organization that believed ex-slaves would have greater freedom and equality in Africa. Slaves freed from slave ships were also sent there instead of being repatriated to their countries of origin. In 1847, these colonists founded the Republic of Liberia, establishing a government modeled on that of the United States and naming the capital city Monrovia after James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States and a prominent supporter of the colonization. The colonists, known as Americo-Liberians, led the political and economic sectors of the country.
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Libya
Libya (Arabic: ليبيا Lībyā), Berber: ⵍⵉⴱⵢⴰ) is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west.
With an area of almost 1.8 million square kilometres (700,000 sq mi), Libya is the third largest country in Africa by area, and the 17th largest in the world. The largest city, Tripoli, is home to 1.7 million of Libya's 6.4 million people. The three traditional parts of the country are Tripolitania, Fezzan and Cyrenaica.
In 2009 Libya had the highest HDI in Africa and the fourth highest GDP (PPP) per capita in Africa, behind Seychelles, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Libya has the 10th-largest proven oil reserves of any country in the world and the 17th-highest petroleum production.
As a result of the Libyan civil war, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, which had at that time been in existence for 34 years, collapsed and Libya entered a period of governance by a transitional administration called the National Transitional Council. The NTC has stated its intention to oversee the first phase of a transition to constitutional democracy, after which it claims it will dissolve in favor of a representative legislature.
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Lower Juba
Lower Juba (Jubbada Hoose) is an administrative region (gobolka) in southern Somalia. With its capital at Kismayo, it lies in the Jubaland autonomous region.
Lower Juba is bordered by Kenya, the Somalian regions of Gedo, Middle Juba, and the Indian Ocean. The region is named after the Jubba River that passes through it and empties into the Indian Ocean at Goobweyn.
The Jubbadda Hoose region consists of four districts:
The Bajuni Islands are also within the region.
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Lower Shebelle
Lower Shebelle (Somali: Shabellaha Hoose) is an administrative region (gobol) in southern Somalia.
It is bordered by the Somalian regions of Banadir, Middle Shebelle, Hiran, Bay and Middle Juba, and the Indian Ocean. Lower Shebelle is named after the Shebelle River, which passes through it.
Until 1984, when the regions were reassigned, it was part of the larger Benadir region and its capital was Mogadishu. However, the provincial capital is now Merca.
Shabeellaha Hoose consists of the following districts:
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Maakhir
Maakhir (Somali: Goboleedka Maakhir; Arabic: ماخر Maakhirian), officially the Maakhir State of Somalia (Somali: Maamul Goboleedka Maakhiran, Arabic: ولاية ماخر الصومال Wilaayatul baladul Maakhir balad- aṣ-Ṣūmmāal) was an autonomous region in northern Somalia in an area disputed by the Somaliland and Puntland macro-regions. In January 2009, it was incorporated into Puntland.
Maakhir was a self-proclaimed state that formally represented the political will of ethnic Warsangali-Darod from the North and South in federal Somalia.[citation needed] It is the indigenous territory of the Warsangali, a member of the Harti confederation of clans (along with the Dhulbahante and Majeerteen) of the Darod. The Warsangali were originally one of the principal actors in the creation of the Puntland State as a successor to the Harti Sultanates after the collapse of the central government in Somalia in 1991. However, since the proclamation of an autonomous Puntland in 1998, the Warsangali have been increasingly sidelined as the Majeerteen clan has assumed a hegemonic role in the state. Maakhir was brought back into the Puntland fold by General Abdullahi Ahmed Jama ‘Ilkajir’ , who contested the Puntland election. General Ilkajir became the de-facto leader of Maakhir following the dissolution of the Maakhir administration.
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Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar (older name Malagasy Republic, Malagasy: Repoblikan'i Madagasikara [republiˈkʲan madaɡasˈkʲarə̥], French: République de Madagascar) is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa. The nation comprises the island of Madagascar (the fourth-largest island in the world), as well as numerous smaller peripheral islands. Following the prehistoric breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana, Madagascar split from India around 88 million years ago, allowing plants and animals on the island to evolve in complete isolation. Consequently, Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot in which over 90% of its wildlife is found nowhere else on Earth. The island's diverse ecosystems and unique wildlife are threatened by human settlement.
Initial human settlement of Madagascar occurred from 350 BCE and 550 CE by Austronesian peoples arriving on outrigger canoes from Borneo who were later joined around 1000 CE by Bantu migrants crossing the Mozambique Channel. Other groups continued to settle on Madagascar over time, each one making lasting contributions to Malagasy cultural life. The Malagasy ethnic group is often divided into eighteen or more sub-groups of which the largest are the Merina of the central highlands.
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Malawi
Malawi ( /məˈlɑːwi/; Chichewa [malaβi][need tone]), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Malawi is over 118,000 km2 (45,560 sq mi) with an estimated population of more than 13,900,000. Its capital is Lilongwe, which is also Malawi's largest city; the second largest is Blantyre and the third is Mzuzu. The name Malawi comes from the Maravi, an old name of the Nyanja people that inhabit the area. The country is also nicknamed "The Warm Heart of Africa".
The area of Africa now known as Malawi was colonized by migrating tribes of Bantu around the 10th century. In 1891 the area was colonized again, this time by the British. In 1953 Malawi, then known as Nyasaland, became part of the semi-independent Central African Federation (CAF). The Federation was dissolved in 1963 and in 1964, Nyasaland gained full independence and was renamed Malawi. Upon gaining independence it became a single-party state under the presidency of Hastings Banda, who remained president until 1994, when he was ousted from power. Joyce Banda (no relation) is the current president, raised to that position after president Bingu Mutharika died in 2012. She is the first female leader in Malawi. Malawi has a democratic, multi-party government. Malawi has a small military force that includes an army, a navy and an air wing. Malawi's foreign policy is pro-Western and includes positive diplomatic relations with most countries and participation in several international organizations.
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Malaysia
Malaysia (i/məˈleɪʒə/ mə-LAY-zhə or i/məˈleɪsiə/ mə-LAY-see-ə) is a federal constitutional monarchy in Southeast Asia. It consists of thirteen states and three federal territories and has a total landmass of 329,847 square kilometres (127,350 sq mi) separated by the South China Sea into two similarly sized regions, Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo. Land borders are shared with Thailand, Indonesia, and Brunei, and maritime borders exist with Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines. The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government. In 2010 the population exceeded 27.5 million, with over 20 million living on the Peninsula.
Malaysia has its origins in the Malay Kingdoms present in the area which, from the 18th century, became subject to the British Empire. The first British territories were known as the Straits Settlements, whose establishment was followed by the Malay kingdoms becoming British protectorates. The territories on Peninsular Malaysia were first unified as the Malayan Union in 1946. Malaya was restructured as the Federation of Malaya in 1948, and achieved independence on 31 August 1957. Malaya united with Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore on 16 September 1963, with si being added to give the new country the name Malaysia. However, less than two years later in 1965, Singapore was expelled from the federation. Since independence, Malaysia has had one of the best economic records in Asia, with GDP growing an average 6.5% for almost 50 years. The economy has traditionally been fuelled by its natural resources, but is expanding in the sectors of science, tourism, commerce and medical tourism.
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Maldives
Maldives (i/ˈmɒldaɪvz/ or /ˈmɒldiːvz/), (Dhivehi: ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, Dhivehi Raa'je), officially Republic of Maldives (Dhivehi: ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, Dhivehi Raa'jeyge Jumhooriyya), also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep Islands, between Minicoy Island and Chagos Archipelago. It stands in the Laccadive Sea, about 700 kilometres (430 mi) south-west of Sri Lanka and 400 kilometres (250 mi) south-west of India. During the colonial era, the Dutch referred to the country as "Maldivische Eilanden" in their documentation, while "Maldive Islands" is the anglicised version of the local name used by the British, which later came to be written "Maldives".
The archipelago is located on top of the Chagos-Maldives-Laccadive Ridge, a vast submarine mountain range in the Indian Ocean. Maldives also form a terrestrial ecoregion together with the Chagos and the Lakshadweep. The atolls of Maldives encompass a territory spread over roughly 90,000 square kilometres (35,000 sq mi), making it one of the world's most geographically dispersed countries. Its population of 328,536 (2012) inhabits 200 of its 1,192 islands. Maldives' capital and largest city Malé had a population of 103,693 in 2006. It is located at the southern edge of North Malé Atoll, in the Kaafu Atoll. It is also one of the Administrative divisions of the Maldives. Traditionally it was the King's Island where the ancient Maldive Royal dynasties were enthroned.
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Mali
Malii/ˈmɑːli/, officially the Republic of Mali (French: République du Mali, French pronunciation: [maˈli]), is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with a population of 14.5 million. Its capital is Bamako. Mali consists of eight regions and its borders on the north reach deep into the middle of the Sahara, while the country's southern part, where the majority of inhabitants live, features the Niger and Sénégal rivers. The country's economic structure centers around agriculture and fishing. Some of Mali's natural resources are gold, uranium, livestock, and salt. About half the population live below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day.
Present-day Mali was once part of three West African empires that controlled trans-Saharan trade: the Ghana Empire, the Mali Empire (from which Mali is named), and the Songhai Empire. In the late 19th century, during the Scramble for Africa, France seized control of Mali making it a part of French Sudan. French Sudan (then known as the Sudanese Republic) joined with Senegal in 1959, achieving independence in 1960 as the Mali Federation. Shortly thereafter, following Senegal's withdrawal from the federation, the Sudanese Republic declared itself the independent Republic of Mali. After a long period of one-party rule, a 1991 coup led to the writing of a new constitution and the establishment of Mali as a democratic, multi-party state. On 22 March, 2012, a group of junior soldiers seized control of the country's presidential palace and declared the government dissolved and its constitution suspended. On 6 April, 2012, rebels from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) declared the secession of a new state, Azawad, from Mali.
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Maraq
Coordinates: 40°38′52″N 46°07′46″E / 40.64778°N 46.12944°E / 40.64778; 46.12944
Maraq (also, Mairik and Marak) is a village in the Goygol Rayon of Azerbaijan.
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Mauritania
Mauritaniai/mɔrɪˈteɪniə/ (Arabic: موريتانيا Mūrītānyā; Berber: Muritanya / Agawej; Wolof: Gànnaar; Soninke: Murutaane; Pulaar: Moritani; French: Mauritanie), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country in West Africa and in the Maghreb. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara (controlled by Morocco) in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest. It is named after the ancient Berber Kingdom of Mauretania, which later became a province of the Roman Empire, even though the modern Mauritania covers a territory far to the south of the old Berber kingdom that had no relation with it. The capital and largest city is Nouakchott, located on the Atlantic coast.
The government of Mauritania was overthrown on 6 August 2008, in a military coup d'état led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. On 16 April 2009, General Aziz resigned from the military to run for president in the 19 July elections, which he won. In Mauritania about 20% of the population live on less than US$1.25 per day.
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Mauritius
Coordinates: 20°12′S 57°30′E / 20.2°S 57.5°E / -20.2; 57.5
Mauritiusi/məˈrɪʃəs/ (Mauritian Creole: Moris; French: Maurice, pronounced: [mɔˈʁis]), officially the Republic of Mauritius (Mauritian Creole: Republik Moris; French: République de Maurice) is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about 870 kilometres (540 mi) east of Madagascar. In addition to the island of Mauritius, the Republic includes the islands of Cargados Carajos, Rodrigues, Tromelin and the Agalega Islands. Mauritius Island is part of the Mascarene Islands, with the French island of Réunion 170 km (110 mi) to the southwest and the island of Rodrigues 570 km (350 mi) to the east. The area of Mauritius is 2040 km2; its capital city is Port Louis.
The United Kingdom took control of the islands in 1810, from France during the Napoleonic Wars, and Mauritius became independent from the UK in 1968. It is a parliamentary republic and is a member of the Southern African Development Community, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, the African Union, La Francophonie and the Commonwealth of Nations.
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Mayotte
Mayotte (French: Mayotte, pronounced: [majɔt]; Shimaore: Maore, IPA: [maˈore]; Malagasy: Mahori) is an overseas department and region of France consisting of a main island, Grande-Terre (or Mahoré), a smaller island, Petite-Terre (or Pamanzi), and several islets around these two. The archipelago is located in the northern Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean, namely between northwestern Madagascar and northeastern Mozambique. Mayotte's area is 374 square kilometres (144 sq mi), and with its estimated 194,000 people is very densely populated (520 /km2 or 1,300 /sq mi). Its biggest city and prefecture is Mamoudzou. The territory is geographically part of the Comoro Islands, but has been politically separate since a 1974 referendum in which it elected to remain under French rule. The territory is also known as Mahoré, the native name of its main island, especially by advocates of its inclusion in the Union of Comoros. In a 2009 referendum, the population overwhelmingly approved accession to status of department (95.2% voted in favour of departmental status). On March 31, 2011, Mayotte became an overseas department.
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Melilla
Melilla (Spanish pronunciation: [meˈliʎa]) is an autonomous city of Spain and an exclave on the north coast of Morocco, with an area of 12.3 square kilometres (4.7 sq mi). Melilla, along with the Spanish exclave Ceuta, is one of the two Spanish territories located in mainland Africa. It was regarded as a part of Málaga province prior to 14 March 1995, when the city's Statute of Autonomy was passed.
Melilla (like Ceuta) was a free port before Spain joined the European Union. As of 2008 it has a population of 73,460. Its population consists of Christians, Muslims (chiefly Riffians), and small minorities of Jews. Both Spanish and Tarifit are widely spoken. Spanish is the only official language, while there have been calls to recognise Tamazight, a standardized version of all Berber languages official in Morocco, as well.
Morocco had previously called for negotiations on the future of Melilla, Ceuta and a number of Mediterranean islands which border it. The majority of the city's population are ethnic Spanish who are opposed to the idea of being a part of Morocco. A poll conducted by Instituto Opina found that 87.9% of people from mainland Spain consider the two cities to be Spanish.
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Merca
Merca (Somali: Marka, Arabic: مركة) is a port city on the coast of southern Somalia, facing the Indian Ocean. It is the main town in the Shabeellaha Hoose region, and is located approximately 70 km (43 mi) southwest of the nation's capital, Mogadishu.
Merca was established in the 5th century by the Biyomaal clan. The first Somalis arrived in the city in the 3rd century BC and gained control of the area and the local trade. The city of Merka was one of several prominent administrative centers in the Ajuuraan Empire.
The Biyomaal and the Ashraaf of Merca fought against the Italian colonialists of Italian Somaliland in a twenty-year war known as the Biyomaal and Ashraaf Revolt in which many of their warriors assassinated several Italian governors. During the Biyomaal and Ashraaf Revolt, several prominent leaders were killed. Monuments erected in their memory can still be found in Merca.
In the late 20th century, the town gained a reputation as a beach resort. On 13 November 2008, Al-Shabaab took control of the city.
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Middle Juba
Middle Juba is an administrative region (gobolka) in southern Somalia. With its capital at Bu'aale, it is located in the Jubaland autonomous region.
Middle Juba is bordered by Somali regions of Gedo, Bay, Lower Shabele and Jubbada Hoose and the Indian Ocean. The region is named after the Jubba River that runs through it.
Middle Juba consists of three districts:
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Middle Shebelle
Middle Shebelle is an administrative region (gobol) in southern Somalia.
It is bordered by the Somali regions of Galgudud, Hiran, Lower Shebelle, and Banadir, as well as the Indian Ocean.
As part of the former Benadir region, Shabeellaha Dhexe's capital was Mogadishu up until the mid-1980s, when the town of Jowhar became the capital. It is named after the Shebelle River that passes through this region.
Middle Shebelle is principally inhabited by various sub-clans of the Somali Mudulood clan, most notably the Abgaal. Other Mudulood subclans that live in this region include the Udeejeen, Moobleen and Hiilebi. However, the Abgaal sub-clan are the predominant clan in Middle Shabelle. There are also members of the non-Somali ethnic minority Bantu group (Kaboole).
The region supports livestock production, rain-fed and gravity irrigated agriculture and fisheries, with an annual rainfall between 150 and 500 millimeters covering an area of approximately 60,000 square kilometers. It has a 400 km coastline on the Indian Ocean.
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Mogadishu
Mogadishu ( /ˌmɒɡəˈdɪʃuː/; Somali: Muqdisho; Arabic: مقديشو Maqadīshū; Italian: Mogadiscio, literally "The Seat of the Shah"), popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries.
Tradition and old records assert that southern Somalia, including the Mogadishu area, was historically inhabited by hunter-gatherers of Bushman physical stock. These were later joined by Cushitic agro-pastoralists, who would go on to establish local aristocracies. Starting in the late 9th or 10th centuries, Arab and Persian traders also began to settle in the region.
During its medieval Golden Age, Mogadishu was ruled by the Somali-Arab Muzaffar dynasty, a vassal of the Ajuuraan State. It subsequently fell under the control of an assortment of local Sultanates and polities, most notably the Gobroon Dynasty. The city later became the capital of Italian Somaliland in the colonial period.
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Morocco
Morocco (Arabic: المغرب al-Maghrib ; Berber: ⵍⵎⴻⵖⵔⵉⴱ / ⴰⵎⴻⵔⵔⵓⴽElmeɣrib / Amerruk), officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of about 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², including the disputed region of the Western Sahara, seen by and mostly administered by Morocco as the Southern Provinces. Morocco is part of the Maghreb region, in addition to Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania, and Libya, with which it shares cultural, historical and linguistic ties.
Morocco is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament. The King of Morocco holds vast executive powers, including the power to dissolve the parliament. Executive power is exercised by the government but more importantly by the king himself. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the Assembly of Representatives and the Assembly of Councillors. The king can also issue decrees called dahirs which have the force of law. The latest Parliamentary elections were held in November 25, 2011, and were considered by some neutral observers to be mostly free and fair. Voter turnout in these elections was estimated to be 43% of registered voters, but only about 25% of Moroccan adult citizens actually voted. The rest either chose not to vote or they were not registered as voters. The political capital is Rabat, but the largest city is Casablanca; other main cities include Marrakesh, Tetouan, Tangier, Salé, Fes, Agadir, Meknes, Oujda, Kenitra, and Nador.
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Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique (Portuguese: Moçambique or República de Moçambique, pronounced: [ʁɛˈpublikɐ di musɐ̃ˈbiki]), is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest. The capital city is Maputo, formerly known as Lourenço Marques.
Between the 1st and 5th centuries AD, Bantu-speaking peoples migrated from farther north and west. Swahili, and later also Arab, commercial ports existed along the coasts until the arrival of Europeans. The area was explored by Vasco da Gama in 1498 and colonized by Portugal in 1505. Mozambique became independent in 1975, and became the People's Republic of Mozambique shortly thereafter. It was the scene of an intense civil war lasting from 1977 to 1992.
Mozambique is endowed with rich and extensive natural resources. The country's economy is based largely on agriculture, but with industry, mainly food and beverages, chemical manufacturing, aluminium and petroleum production, is growing fast. The country's tourism sector is also growing. South Africa is Mozambique's main trading partner and source of foreign direct investment. Portugal, Spain, and Belgium are also among the country's most important partners. Since 2001 Mozambique is one of the world's top ten for annual average GDP growth. However, Mozambique still has one of the lowest GDP per capita, one of the worst human development index and one of the highest inequality in the world, as well as having the world's lowest life expectancy.
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Mudug
Mudug (Somali: Mudug) is an administrative region (gobolka) in north-central Somalia. Bordered by the Ogaden, the Somalian regions of Nugaal and Galguduud, and the Indian Ocean, its capital is the city of Galkacyo.
The Mudug region consists of the following districts:
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Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia (Afrikaans: Republiek van Namibië, German: Republik Namibia (help·info)), is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990, following the Namibian War of Independence. Its capital and largest city is Windhoek. Namibia is a member state of the United Nations (UN), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU), and the Commonwealth of Nations.
The dry lands of Namibia were inhabited since early times by Bushmen, Damara, and Namaqua, and since about the 14th century AD by immigrating Bantu who came with the Bantu expansion. It became a German Imperial protectorate in 1884 and remained a German colony until the end of World War I. In 1920, the League of Nations mandated the country to South Africa, which imposed its laws and, from 1948, its apartheid policy.
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Niger
Niger (French pronunciation: [niʒɛʁ], but occasionally pronounced as /niːˈʒɛər/ ori/ˈnaɪdʒər/), officially the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east. Niger covers a land area of almost 1,270,000 km2, making it the largest nation in West Africa, with over 80 percent of its land area covered by the Sahara desert. The country's predominantly Islamic population of just above 15,000,000 is mostly clustered in the far south and west of the nation. The capital city is Niamey, located in the far southwest corner of Niger.
Niger is a developing country, and consistently ranks as one of the lowest ranks of the United Nations' Human Development Index (HDI), 186th of 187 countries in 2011. Much of the non-desert portions of the country are threatened by periodic drought and desertification. The economy is concentrated around subsistence and some export agriculture clustered in the more fertile south, and the export of raw materials, especially uranium ore. Niger remains handicapped by its landlocked position, desert terrain, poor education and poverty of its people, lack of infrastructure, poor health care, and environmental degradation.
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Nigeria
Nigeriai/naɪˈdʒɪəriə/, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in the north. Its coast in the south lies on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean. The three largest and most influential ethnic groups in Nigeria are the Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba.
In terms of religion Nigeria is roughly split half and half between Muslims in the North and Christians in the South; a very small minority practice traditional religion. Since 2002 there have been a spate of clashes, particularly in the North of the country, between government forces and the Islamists Boko Haram, militant jihadists who seek to establish sharia law.
The people of Nigeria have an extensive history. Archaeological evidence shows that human habitation of the area dates back to at least 9000 BCE. The area around the Benue and Cross River is thought to be the original homeland of the Bantu migrants who spread across most of central and southern Africa in waves between the 1st millennium BC and the 2nd millennium.
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Northland State
Northland State of Somalia was an autonomous state in the disputed Sool, Sanaag and Cayn regions of Somalia, proclaimed in May 2008. It was located between Somaliland and the autonomous macro-regions of Puntland and Maakhir.
This initiative was spearheaded by the Dulbahante Somali clan, a Harti Darod clan, for much the same reasons that the Maakhir state was declared in Sanaag by the Warsangeli, another Harti Darod clan located in disputed territory between Somaliland and Puntland.
Notable towns within these borders include Taleex, Yagoori, Xudun, and Buuhoodle.
While Northland's official capital was Las Anod, its parliament never met due to Las Anod being under the control of Somaliland. The participation of Dulbahante in the Puntland elections brought to an end the Dulbahante clan's experiment in their own state.
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Oman
Oman (i/oʊˈmɑːn/ oh-MAAN; Arabic: عمان ʻUmān), officially called the Sultanate of Oman (Arabic: سلطنة عُمان Salṭanat ʻUmān), is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the southeast and the Gulf of Oman on the northeast. The Madha and Musandam enclaves are surrounded by the UAE on their land borders, with the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman forming Musandam's coastal boundaries.
For a period, Oman was a moderate regional power, formerly having a sultanate extending across the Strait of Hormuz to Iran, and modern day Pakistan, and far south to Zanzibar on the coat of south-east Africa. Over time, as its power declined, the sultanate came under heavy influence from the United Kingdom, though Oman was never formally part of the British Empire, or a British protectorate. The Omani royal family claim that Oman has been ruled by the Al Said dynasty since 1744, although without substantial proof. Oman has long-standing military and political ties with the United Kingdom and the United States, although it maintains an independent foreign policy.
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Pakistan
Pakistan (i/ˈpækɨstæn/ or i/pɑːkiˈstɑːn/; Urdu: پاکستان) (Urdu pronunciation: [paːkɪˈst̪aːn] (
listen)), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Urdu: اسلامی جمہوریۂ پاکستان), is a sovereign country in South Asia. It sits at the crossroads of the strategically important regions of South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. It has a 1,046-kilometre (650 mi) coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west and north, Iran to the southwest and China in the far northeast. It is separated from Tajikistan by Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor in the north, and it shares a marine border with Oman.
The territory of modern Pakistan was the site of several ancient cultures, including the Neolithic Mehrgarh and the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilisation, and has undergone invasions or settlements by Hindu, Persian, Indo-Greek, Islamic, Turco-Mongol, Afghan and Sikh cultures. Thus the area has been ruled by numerous empires and dynasties, including the Indian Mauryan Empire, the Persian Achaemenid Empire, the Arab Umayyad Caliphate, the Mongol Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Durrani Empire, the Sikh Empire and the British Empire. As a result of the Pakistan Movement led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and India's struggle for independence, Pakistan was created in 1947 as an independent nation for Muslims from the regions in the east and west of India where there was a Muslim majority. Initially a dominion, Pakistan adopted a new constitution in 1956, becoming an Islamic republic. A civil war in 1971 resulted in the secession of East Pakistan as the new country of Bangladesh.
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Pantelleria
Pantelleria (Sicilian: Pantiddirìa), the ancient Cossyra, is an Italian island in the Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, 100 km (62.1 mi) southwest of Sicily and just 60 km (37.3 mi) east of the Tunisian coast. Administratively Pantelleria is a comune belonging to the Sicilian province of Trapani. With an area of 83 km2 (32 sq mi), it is the largest volcanic satellite island of Sicily.
The island of Pantelleria is located above a drowned continental rift in the Strait of Sicily and has been the locus of intensive volcano-tectonic activity. The 15-km-long (9.3 mi) island is the emergent summit of a largely submarine edifice. Two large Pleistocene calderas dominate the island, the older of the two formed about 114,000 years ago and the younger, Cinque Denti caldera formed about 45,000 years ago. The eruption that formed the Cinque Denti caldera produced the distinctive Green Tuff deposit that covers much of the island, and is found across the Mediterranean, as far away as the island of Lesbos in the Aegean.Holocene eruptions have constructed pumice cones, lava domes, and short, blocky lava flows. Post Green Tuff activity constructed the cone of Monte Gibele, part of which was subsequently uplifted to form Montagna Grande. Several vents are located on three sides of the uplifted Montagna Grande block on the southeast side of the island. A submarine eruption in 1891 from a vent off the northwest coast is the only confirmed historical activity.
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Portugal
Portugali/ˈpɔrtʃʉɡəl/ (Portuguese: Portugal, IPA: [puɾtuˈɣaɫ]), officially the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa) is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula . Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are part of Portugal. The country is named after its second largest city, Porto, whose Latin name was Portus Cale.
The land within the borders of the current Portuguese Republic has been continuously settled since prehistoric times: occupied by Celts like the Gallaeci and the Lusitanians, integrated into the Roman Republic and later settled by Germanic peoples such as the Suebi, Swabians, Vandals and the Visigoths. In the 8th century most of the Iberian Peninsula was conquered by Moorish invaders professing Islam, which were later expelled by the Knights Templar under the Order of Christ. During the Christian Reconquista, Portugal established itself as an independent kingdom from León in 1139, claiming to be the oldest European nation state.
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Puntland
Puntland (Somali: Buntlaand, Arabic: أرض البنط), officially the Puntland State of Somalia (Somali: Maamul Goboleedka Buntlaand ee Soomaaliya), is a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998.
Puntland is bordered by Somaliland to its west, the Gulf of Aden in the north, the Indian Ocean in the southeast, the central Galmudug region of Somalia in the south, and Ethiopia in the southwest.
A third of Somalia's population lives in the territory, which contains about a third of the nation's geographical area. Unlike neighbouring Somaliland, Puntland, as with all other regions in the country, does not seek outright independence from Somalia.
The name "Puntland" is derived from the Land of Punt mentioned by ancient Egyptian sources. The exact location of the fabled territory is still a mystery. Many studies suggest that the Land of Punt was located in present-day Somalia, while others propose that it was situated elsewhere.
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Qatar
Qatar (i/ˈkɑːtɑr/ or i/kəˈtɑr/;Arabic: قطر [ˈqɑtˤɑr]; local vernacular pronunciation: [ɡɪtˤɑr]), also known as the country or State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in Western Asia, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its territory surrounded by the Persian Gulf. A strait of the Persian Gulf separates Qatar from the nearby island state of Bahrain.
Qatar has been ruled as an absolute monarchy by Al Thani family since the mid-19th century. Formerly a British protectorate noted mainly for pearling, it became independent in 1971, and has become one of the region's wealthiest states due to its enormous oil and natural gas revenues. In 1995, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani became Emir when he seized power from his father, Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, in a peaceful coup d'état. The most important positions in Qatar are held by the members of the Al Thani family, or close confidants of the al-Thani family. Beginning in 1992, Qatar has built intimate military ties with the United States, and is now the location of U.S. Central Command’s Forward Headquarters and the Combined Air Operations Center.
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Rodrigues
Rodrigues (French: îles Rodrigues) named after Dom Diogo Rodrigues is a semi-autonomous island part of the Republic of Mauritius located in the Indian Ocean, about 650 kilometres (400 mi) north-east of Mauritius. It is the is part of the Mascarene Islands which include Mauritius, Cargados Carajos shoals and the french island Réunion, other nearby island countries and territories include Tromelin, Agalega, Comoros, Mayotte and the Seychelles to the far north-west. The area of Rodrigues is 108 km2, it is of volcanic origin surrounded by coral reef, just off its coast lie some tiny uninhabited islands and islets. The island used the be the tenth district of Mauritius before it gained autonomous status in 2001 and is governed by the Rodrigues Regional Assembly. The capital of the island is Port Mathurin.
As of 2011, the island's population was about 37,922. Its inhabitants are Mauritian citizens.English is the official language of the island, though people also speak French, Indian languages and some oriental languages are also spoken, the lingua franca is Rodriguan Creole. The main religion is Roman Catholicism with small minorities of other religions. Most of the inhabitants are of mixed African and French descent. Its economy is based mainly on fishing, farming, handicraft and a developing tourism sector.
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Rwanda
Rwanda /ruːˈɑːndə/ or /ruːˈændə/, officially the Republic of Rwanda (Kinyarwanda: Repubulika y'u Rwanda; French: République du Rwanda), is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.7 million (2012). Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. All of Rwanda is at high elevation, with a geography dominated by mountains in the west, savanna in the east, and numerous lakes throughout the country. The climate is temperate, with two rainy seasons and two dry seasons every year.
The population is young and predominantly rural, with a density among the highest in Africa. Rwandans form three groups: the Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa. The Twa are a pygmy people who descend from Rwanda's earliest inhabitants, but scholars disagree on the origins of and differences between the Hutu and Tutsi; some believe that they are derived from former social castes, while others view them as being races or tribes. Christianity is the largest religion in the country, and the principal language is Kinyarwanda, which is spoken by most Rwandans. Rwanda has a presidential system of government. The President is Paul Kagame of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). Rwanda has low corruption compared with neighbouring countries, but human rights organisations allege suppression of opposition groups, intimidation, and restrictions on freedom of speech. The country has been governed by a strict administrative hierarchy since precolonial times; there are currently five provinces, which are delineated by borders drawn in 2006.
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Réunion
Réunion (French: La Réunion, IPA: [la 'ʁeynjɔ̃] ( listen); previously Île Bourbon) is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about 200 kilometres (120 mi) south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.
Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France. Like the other overseas departments, Réunion is also one of the 27 regions of France (being an overseas region) and an integral part of the Republic with the same status as those situated on the European mainland.
Réunion is an outermost region of the European Union and, as an overseas department of France, is part of the Eurozone.
Before the arrival of the Portuguese in the early sixteenth century, there is little to Réunion's recorded history. Arab traders were familiar with it by the name Dina Morgabin,. The island possibly features on a map from 1153 AD by Al Sharif el-Edrisi. The island may also have been visited by Swahili or Malay sailors.
The first European discovery of the area was made around 1507 by Portuguese explorers, but the specifics are unclear. The uninhabited island may have been first sighted by the expedition led by Don Pedro Mascarenhas, who gave his name to the island group around Réunion, the Mascarenes. Réunion itself was dubbed Santa Apolonia after a favorite saint, which suggests that the date of the Portuguese discovery may have been February 9, her saint day. Diego Lopes de Sequeira is claimed to have landed on the island in 1509.
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Saint Helena
Saint Helena ( /ˌseɪnt həˈliːnə/ SAYNT-hə-LEE-nə), named after Saint Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha which also includes Ascension Island and the islands of Tristan da Cunha. Saint Helena measures about 16 by 8 kilometres (10 by 5 mi) and has a population of 4,255 (2008 census).
The island was uninhabited when discovered by the Portuguese in 1502. It is one of the most isolated islands in the world. For centuries, it was an important stopover for ships sailing to Europe from Asia and South Africa. The British also used the island as a place of exile, most notably for Napoleon I, Dinuzulu kaCetshwayo and more than 5,000 Boer prisoners. Saint Helena is Britain's second oldest remaining colony (now termed overseas territory), after Bermuda.
Most historical accounts state that the island was discovered on 21 May 1502 by the Galician navigator João da Nova sailing at the service of the Portuguese Crown, and that he named it "Santa Helena" after Helena of Constantinople. Another theory holds that the island found by De Nova was actually Tristan da Cunha 2,430 kilometres (1,510 mi) to its south, and that Saint Helena was discovered by some of the ships attached to the squadron of Estêvão da Gama expedition on 30 July 1503 (as reported in the account of clerk Thomé Lopes).
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Sanaag
Sanaag (Somali: Sanaag) is an administrative region (gobolka) in northern Somalia. Its capital city is Erigavo.
Sanaag has a long coastline facing the Gulf of Aden to the north, and is bordered by the Somali regions of Woqooyi Galbeed, Togdheer, Sool and Bari.
The most important towns in the region are Ceerigaabo, Badhan, Las Khorey, Dhahar, Laako, Ceel Afweyn, Buraan, Huluul, Kulmiye, Yufle, Dayaha, Hadaaftimo, Mindigale, Xingalool, Jiidali, Xiis, Yubbe, Ceelbuh, Damala Xagare, Maydh, Elaayo and Gar Adag.
Local control of Sanaag is disputed between Somaliland, the autonomous Puntland region, and HBM-SSC (Hoggaanka Badbaadada iyo Mideynta SSC), a local unionist group whose goal is the creation of its own regional administration (Sool, Sanaag and Cayn or SSC).
The Sanaag region and northern Somalia in general is home to numerous archaeological sites, with ancient ruins, buildings and cairns found at Haylaan, Qa’ableh, Qombo'ul, Maydh and Elaayo, among other places. However, many of these old structures have yet to be properly explored, a process which would help shed further light on local history and facilitate their preservation for posterity.
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Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia (i/ˌsaʊdi əˈreɪbi.ə/ or i/ˌsɔːdiː əˈreɪbi.ə/; Arabic: السعودية as-Su‘ūdīyah[citation needed] or incorrectly as-Sa‘ūdīyah, officially known as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Arabic: المملكة العربية السعودية al-Mamlakah al-‘Arabīyah as-Su‘ūdīyah Arabic pronunciation (help·info)), is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab world, after Algeria. It is bordered by Jordan, and Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south. The Red Sea lies to its west, and the Persian Gulf lies to the east. Saudi Arabia has an area of approximately 2,250,000 km2 (870,000 sq mi), and it has an estimated population of 27 million, of which 9 million are registered foreign expatriates and an estimated 2 million are illegal immigrants. Saudi nationals comprise an estimated 16 million people.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded by Abdul-Aziz bin Saud (known for most of his career as Ibn Saud) in 1932, although the conquests which eventually led to the creation of the Kingdom began in 1902 when he captured Riyadh, the ancestral home of his family, the House of Saud, referred to in Arabic as the Al Saud. The Saudi Arabian government, which has been an absolute monarchy since its inception, refers to its system of government as being Islamic, though this is contested by many due to its strong basis in Salafism, a minority school of thought in Islam. The kingdom is sometimes called "The Land of the Two Holy Mosques" in reference to Al-Masjid al-Haram (in Mecca), and Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (in Medina), the two holiest places in Islam.
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Senegal
Senegali/ˌsɛnɨˈɡɔːl/ (French: le Sénégal), officially the Republic of Senegal (République du Sénégal, IPA: [ʁepyblik dy seneɡal]), is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north. Senegal is externally bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, and Guinea and Guinea-Bissau to the south; internally it almost completely surrounds The Gambia, namely on the north, east and south, exempting Gambia's short Atlantic Ocean coastline. Senegal covers a land area of almost 197,000 square kilometres (76,000 sq mi), and has an estimated population of about 13 million. The climate is tropical with two seasons: the dry season and the rainy season.
Dakar, the capital city of Senegal, is located at the westernmost tip of the country on the Cap-Vert peninsula. About 500 kilometres (300 mi) off the coast, in the Atlantic Ocean, lie the Cape Verde Islands. During the 17th and 18th centuries, numerous trading posts, belonging to various colonial empires, were established along the coast. The town of St. Louis became the capital of French West Africa (Afrique occidentale française, or AOF) before it was moved to Dakar in 1902. Dakar later became its capital in 1960 at the time of independence from France.
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Seychelles
Seychelles (i/seɪˈʃɛlz/ say-SHELZ; French: [sɛʃɛl]), officially the Republic of Seychelles (French: République des Seychelles; Creole: Repiblik Sesel), is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some 1,500 kilometres (932 mi) east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar.
Other nearby island countries and territories include Zanzibar to the west, Mauritius, Rodrigues, Agalega and Réunion to the south, Comoros and Mayotte to the southwest. Seychelles, with an estimated population of 86,525, has the smallest population of any African state. It also has the highest Human Development Index in Africa.
Scholars assume that Austronesian seafarers, and later Maldivian and Arab traders were the first to visit the uninhabited Seychelles. Remains of Maldivian mariner presence from the 12th century were found in Silhouette Island. The earliest recorded sighting by Europeans took place in 1502 by the Portuguese Admiral Vasco da Gama, who passed through the Amirantes and named them after himself (islands of the Admiral).
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Sheekh
Sheekh or Sheikh (in Arabic: شَيخ) is a small town in the Togdheer region of Somalia. It is situated 70 km north of Burco.
Coordinates: 10°09′00″N 45°32′00″E / 10.15°N 45.5333°E / 10.15; 45.5333
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Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone (i/siːˌɛrə liːˈoʊn/), officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the northeast, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the southwest. Sierra Leone is a constitutional representative democratic republic and covers a total area of 71,740 km2 (27,699 sq mi) Sierra Leone has a tropical climate, with a diverse environment ranging from savannah to rainforests. As of 2011, Sierra Leone has an estimated population of 6 million[1] (2011 United Nations estimte). Freetown is the capital, largest city as well as its economic, commercial, educational, cultural and political centre. Bo is the country's second largest city and the second major economic and commercial centre.
Sierra Leone is divided into four geographical regions: the Northern Province, Eastern Province, Southern Province and the Western Area; which are subdivided into fourteen districts. The districts have their own directly elected local government known as district council, headed by a council chairman. The country's six municipalities of Freetown, Bo, Kenema, Makeni, Koidu Town and the coastal town of Bonthe have their own directly elected city councils headed by mayors.
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Somalia
Somalia ( /soʊˈmɑːliə/ soh-MAH-lee-ə; Somali: Soomaaliya; Arabic: الصومال aṣ-Ṣūmāl), officially the Somali Republic (Somali: Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliya, Arabic: جمهورية الصومال Jumhūriyyat aṣ-Ṣūmāl) and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory. The internationally recognized Transitional Federal Government controls only a small part of the country. Somalia has been characterized as a failed state and is one of the poorest and most violent states in the world.
Somalia lies in the easternmost part of Africa. It is bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, the Gulf of Aden with Yemen to the north, the Indian Ocean to the east, and Ethiopia to the west. It has the longest coastline on the continent, and its terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains and highlands. Hot conditions prevail year-round, along with periodic monsoon winds and irregular rainfall.
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Somaliland
Somaliland (Somali: Soomaaliland, Arabic: صوماللاند Ṣūmālilānd or أرض الصومال Arḍ aṣ-Ṣūmāl) is an unrecognised self-declared de facto sovereign state that is internationally recognised as an autonomous region of Somalia. The government of Somaliland regards itself as the successor state to the British Somaliland protectorate, which was independent on June 26, 1960 as the State of Somaliland, before uniting with the Trust Territory of Somalia (the former Italian Somaliland) on July 1, 1960 to form the Somali Republic.
Somaliland is bordered by Ethiopia in the south and west, Djibouti in the northwest, the Gulf of Aden in the north, and the autonomous Puntland region of Somalia to the east.
In 1988, the Siad Barre regime committed massacres against the people of Somaliland, which were among the events that led to the Somali Civil War. The war left the economic and military infrastructure severely damaged. After the collapse of the central government in 1991, the local government, led by the Somali National Movement (SNM), declared independence from the rest of Somalia on May 18 of the same year.
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Sool
Sool (Somali: Sool) is an administrative region (gobolka) in northern Somalia.
With its capital at Las Anod, Sool is historically known for being the seat of the anti-colonial Dervish (Darwiish) movement.
The region is disputed between Somaliland, the autonomous Puntland, and HBM-SSC (Hoggaanka Badbaadada iyo Mideynta SSC), a local unionist group whose goal is the creation of its own regional administration (Sool, Sanaag and Cayn or SSC).
The region is mainly inhabited by people from the Somali ethnic group, with the Dhulbahante subdivision of the Harti confederation of Darod sub-clans is especially well-represented.
Under the government of Siad Barre, Sool was not a separate region but part of the larger Nugaal province, with its capital at Garowe. It was separated from Nugaal in the 1980s.
From 2003 until October 2007, Sool was administered by Puntland, a territory with a similar clan composition. In 2007, forces from Somaliland occupied the region and assumed control. There is strong opposition against the presence of Somaliland troops in the region.
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South Africa
Coordinates: 30°S 25°E / 30°S 25°E / -30; 25
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of Africa. It is divided into nine provinces and has 2,798 kilometres (1,739 mi) of coastline. To the north of the country lie the neighbouring territories of Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe; to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland; while Lesotho is an enclave surrounded by South African territory.
South Africa is multi-ethnic and has diverse cultures and languages. Eleven official languages are recognised in the constitution. Two of these languages are of European origin: South African English and Afrikaans, a language which originated mainly from Dutch that is spoken by the majority of white and Coloured South Africans. Though English is commonly used in public and commercial life, it is only the fifth most-spoken home language. All ethnic and language groups have political representation in the country's constitutional democracy comprising a parliamentary republic; unlike most parliamentary republics, the positions of head of state and head of government are merged in a parliament-dependent President.
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South Sudan
South Sudan (i/ˌsaʊθ suːˈdæn/ or /suːˈdɑːn/), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in the east-central African region of northeastern Africa. It is also part of the North Africa UN subregion. Its current capital is Juba, which is also its largest city; the capital city is planned to be moved to the more centrally located Ramciel in the future. South Sudan is bordered by Ethiopia to the east, Kenya to the southeast, Uganda to the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the southwest, the Central African Republic to the west, and Sudan to the north. South Sudan includes the vast swamp region of the Sudd formed by the White Nile, locally called the Bahr al Jabal.
The modern states of South Sudan and Sudan were part of Egypt under the Muhammad Ali Dynasty, later being governed as an Anglo-Egyptian condominium until Sudanese independence was achieved in 1956. Following the First Sudanese Civil War, the Southern Sudan Autonomous Region was formed in 1972 and lasted until 1983. A second Sudanese civil war soon developed and ended with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005. Later that year, southern autonomy was restored when an Autonomous Government of Southern Sudan was formed.
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Southwestern Somalia
Southwestern Somalia (Somali: Koonfur-Galbeed Soomaaliya) was an ostensibly autonomous self-proclaimed state in Somalia founded by Hasan Muhammad Nur Shatigadud, leader of the Rahanweyn Resistance Army (RRA) on April 1, 2002. The state was officially the Southwestern State of Somalia (SWS) (Somali: Dowlad Goboleedka Koonfur-Galbeed ee Soomaaliya) and intended to consist of six Somali administrative regions (gobolka); These are the Bay, Bakool, Middle Juba (Jubada Dhexe), Lower Shabelle (Shabeelada Hoose), Gedo, and Lower Juba (Jubada Hoose) regions where the majority of the residents of Rahanweyn Digil-Mirifle and May-May Somali speakers. The organization of the autonomous state was a move to show the disaffection of the RRA with the nascent Mogadishu-based Transitional National Government (TNG) and an act to counter the influence of the Somalia Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC) in the same regions.
After 3 October 2002 (except for a brief period on 14 December–16 December 2002), the regional capital Baidoa was controlled by Sheikh Aden Madobe and Muhammad Ibrahim Habsade. Shatigudud and Madobe reconciled on September 23, 2003, but the rivalry with Habsade continued. All three, including Habsade, were appointed Members of Parliament in the Transitional Federal Parliament (TFP) in November 2004. In January 2005, the traditional Rahanweyn Clan elders and civic society leaders again helped reconcile Shatigadud, Madobe, and Habsade. At that time, both Shatigadud and Madobe also became ministers in the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Prime Minister Ali Muhammad Ghedi.
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Spain
Spain (i/ˈspeɪn/ SPAYN; Spanish: España, pronounced: [esˈpaɲa] ( listen)), officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España), is a sovereign state and a member of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar; to the north and north east by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the northwest and west by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal.
Spanish territory also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast, and two autonomous cities in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla, that border Morocco. Furthermore, the town of Llívia is a Spanish exclave situated inside French territory. With an area of 504,030 square kilometres (194,610 sq mi), it is the second largest country in Western Europe and the European Union after France, and the fourth largest country in Europe after Russia, Ukraine and France.
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Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (i/ʃriː ˈlɑːŋkə/, /sriːˈlɑːŋkə/, or /sriːˈlæŋkə/;Sinhala: ශ්රී ලංකාව, Tamil: இலங்கை), is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent in South Asia. Known until 1972 as Ceylon ( /sɨˈlɒn/, /seɪˈlɒn/, or /siːˈlɒn/), Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar, the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the Maldives.
As a result of its location in the path of major sea routes, Sri Lanka is a strategic naval link between West Asia and South East Asia. It was an important stop on the ancient Silk Road. Sri Lanka has also been a center of the Buddhist religion and culture from ancient times, being the nation where the Buddhist teachings were first written down as well as the oldest continually Buddhist country. Sri Lanka boasts a diverse range of cultures, languages and religions. The Sinhalese people form the majority of the population; Tamils, who are concentrated in the north and east of the island, form the largest ethnic minority. Other communities include Moors, Burghers, Kaffirs, Malays and the aboriginal Vedda people.
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Sudan
Sudan (i/suːˈdæn/ or /suːˈdɑːn/;Arabic: السودان, as-Sūdān), officially the Republic of the Sudan (Arabic: جمهورية السودان, Jumhūrīyat as-Sūdān), sometimes called North Sudan, is an Arab state in North Africa (sometimes also considered to be part of the Middle East). It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, and Libya to the northwest. The population of Sudan is a combination of indigenous inhabitants of Nile Valley, and descendants of migrants from the Arabian Peninsula. Due to the process of Arabisation common throughout the rest of the Arab World, today Arab culture predominates in Sudan. The majority of the population of Sudan adheres to Islam. The Nile divides the country between east and west sides.
The people of Sudan have a long history extending from antiquity which is intertwined with the history of Egypt. Sudan suffered seventeen years of civil war during the First Sudanese Civil War (1955–1972) followed by ethnic, religious and economic conflicts between the Muslim Arab northern Sudanese and the mostly animist and Christian Nilotes of Southern Sudan. This led to the Second Sudanese Civil War in 1983. Because of continuing political and military struggles, Sudan was seized in a bloodless coup d'état by colonel Omar al-Bashir in 1989, who thereafter proclaimed himself President of Sudan. The civil war ended with the signing of a Comprehensive Peace Agreement which granted autonomy to what was then the southern region of the country. Following a referendum held in January 2011, South Sudan seceded on 9 July 2011 with the consent of Sudan's President al-Bashir.
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Swaziland
Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland (Umbuso weSwatini), and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique. The nation, as well as its people, are named after the 19th century king Mswati II.
Swaziland is a small country, no more than 200 kilometres (120 mi) north to south and 130 kilometres (81 mi) east to west. The western half is mountainous, descending to a lowveld region to the east. The eastern border with Mozambique and South Africa is dominated by the escarpment of the Lebombo Mountains. The climate is temperate in the west, but may reach 40 °C (104 °F) in summer in the lowveld. Rainfall occurs mainly in the summer and may reach 2 metres (6.6 ft) in the west.
The area that Swaziland now covers has been continuously inhabited since prehistory. Today, the population is primarily ethnic Swazis whose language is siSwati, though English is spoken as a second language. The Swazi people descend from the southern Bantu who migrated from Central Africa in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Anglo-Boer War saw the United Kingdom make Swaziland a protectorate under its direct control. Swaziland gained independence in 1968. Swaziland is a member of the Southern African Development Community, the African Union, and the Commonwealth of Nations. The head of state is the king, who appoints the prime minister and a small number of representatives for both chambers of parliament. Elections are held every five years to determine the majority of the representatives. A new constitution was adopted in 2005.
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Sweden
Sweden (i/ˈswiːdən/ SWEE-dən; Swedish: Sverige [ˈsværjɛ] ( listen)), officially the Kingdom of Sweden (Swedish: Konungariket Sverige (help·info)), is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland, and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Øresund.
At 450,295 square kilometres (173,860 sq mi), Sweden is the third largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of about 9.4 million. Sweden has a low population density of 21 inhabitants per square kilometre (54 /sq mi) with the population mostly concentrated to the southern half of the country. About 85% of the population live in urban areas. Sweden's capital city is Stockholm, which is also the largest city.
Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages. In the 17th century, the country expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire. The empire grew to be one of the great powers of Europe in the 17th and early 18th century. Most of the conquered territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were lost during the 18th and 19th centuries. The eastern half of Sweden, present-day Finland, was lost to Russia in 1809. The last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Sweden by military means forced Norway into a personal union. Since then, Sweden has been at peace, practicing "non-participation in military alliances during peacetime and neutrality during wartime". However, Sweden has been a member of the European Union since 1 January 1995 and is a member of the OECD.
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Tanzania
Coordinates: 6°18′25″S 34°51′14″E / 6.307°S 34.854°E / -6.307; 34.854 Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( /ˌtænzəˈniːə/ Swahili: Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern border lies on the Indian Ocean.
Tanzania is a state composed of 26 regions (mikoa), including those of the semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar. The head of state is President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, elected in 2005. Since 1996, the official capital of Tanzania has been Dodoma, where Parliament and some government offices are located. Between independence and 1996, the main coastal city of Dar es Salaam served as the country's political capital. Today, Dar es Salaam remains the principal commercial city of Tanzania and the de facto seat of most government institutions. It is the major seaport for the country and its landlocked neighbours.
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Thailand
Thailand ( /ˈtaɪlænd/ TY-land or /ˈtaɪlənd/;Thai: ประเทศไทย, RTGS: Prathet Thai), officially the Kingdom of Thailand (Thai: ราชอาณาจักรไทย, RTGS: Ratcha Anachak Thai; IPA: [râːt.tɕʰā ʔāːnāːtɕàk tʰāj] ( listen)), formerly known as Siam (Thai: สยาม; RTGS: Sayam), is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Burma. Its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India in the Andaman Sea to the southwest.
The country is a constitutional monarchy, headed by King Rama IX, the ninth king of the House of Chakri, who, having reigned since 1946, is the world's longest-serving head of state and the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history. The king of Thailand is titled Head of State, Head of the Armed Forces, the Upholder of the Buddhist religion, and the Defender of all Faiths.
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The Gambia
The Republic of The Gambia, commonly referred to as The Gambia, or Gambiai/ˈɡæmbiə/, is a country in West Africa. Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa, surrounded by Senegal except for a short coastline on the Atlantic Ocean in the west.
The country is situated around the Gambia River, the nation's namesake, which flows through the country's centre and empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Its area is 11,295 km² with an estimated population of 1.7 million.
On 18 February 1965, Gambia gained independence from the United Kingdom and joined the Commonwealth of Nations. Banjul is Gambia's capital, but the largest cities are Serekunda and Brikama.
Gambia shares historical roots with many other West African nations in the slave trade, which was the key factor in the placing and keeping of a colony on the Gambia River, first by the Portuguese and later by the British. Since gaining independence in 1965, Gambia has enjoyed relative political stability, with the exception of a brief period of military rule in 1994.
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Togdheer
Togdheer (Somali: Togdheer, Arabic: تُوجدَير) is an administrative region (gobolka) in northwestern Somalia. It lies in the territory of Somaliland, a self-declared republic that is internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Somalia.
Togdheer is bordered by Ethiopia to the south, and the Somali regions of Woqooyi Galbeed, Sanaag and Sool. With its capital at Burao (Burco), the region's name is derived from the Togdheer River.
Currently, the Regional Chairman is Abdi Hussen Dheere and the Vice Chairman is Guled Dahir Samatar.[citation needed]
The government of the autonomous Puntland macro-region in northeastern Somalia claims the southeastern Togdheer region as its territory, and calls this area, centered around the town of Buuhoodle, the Ayn region of Puntland. This is in contrast to the Somaliland macro-region in northwestern Somalia, which also claims the area as part of its territory.
The Togdheer region consists of the following four districts:
Coordinates: 8°36′48″N 46°15′8″E / 8.61333°N 46.25222°E / 8.61333; 46.25222
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Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republici/ˈtoʊɡoʊ/, is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east, and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately 57,000 square kilometres (22,000 sq mi) with a population of approximately 6.7 million.
Togo is a tropical, sub-Saharan nation, highly dependent on agriculture, with a climate that provides good growing seasons. The official language is French, with many other languages spoken in Togo, particularly those of the Gbe family. The largest religious group in Togo are those with indigenous beliefs, and there are significant Christian and Muslim minorities. Togo is a member of the United Nations, African Union, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone, La Francophonie and Economic Community of West African States.
From the 11th to the 16th century, various tribes entered the region from all directions. From the 16th century to the 18th century, the coastal region was a major trading centre for Europeans in search of slaves, earning Togo and the surrounding region the name "The Slave Coast". In 1884, Germany declared Togoland a protectorate. After World War I, rule over Togo was transferred to France. Togo gained its independence from France in 1960.
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Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha ( /ˈtrɪstən də ˈkuːnə/) is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha which also includes Saint Helena 2,430 kilometres (1,510 mi) to its north, and equatorial Ascension Island even farther removed.
Tristan da Cunha is a remote volcanic group of islands in the south Atlantic Ocean and the main island of that group. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying 2,816 kilometres (1,750 mi) from the nearest land, South Africa, and 3,360 kilometres (2,088 mi) from South America. The territory consists of the main island of Tristan da Cunha itself, which measures about 11.27 kilometres (7.0 mi) across and has an area of 98 square kilometres (37.8 sq mi), along with the uninhabited Nightingale Islands and the wildlife reserves of Inaccessible Island and Gough Island. It has a permanent population of 275 (2009 figures).
The islands were first sighted in 1506 by Portuguese explorer Tristão da Cunha, although rough seas prevented a landing. He named the main island after himself, Ilha de Tristão da Cunha, which was later anglicised to Tristan da Cunha Island.
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Tunisia
Tunisia (USi/tuːˈniːʒə/ two-NEE-zhə or UK /tjuːˈnɪziə/ tew-NIZ-iə; Arabic: تونس Tūnis pronounced [ˈtuːnɪs]), officially the Republic of Tunisia (Arabic: الجمهورية التونسية al-Jumhūriyyah at-Tūnisiyyah), is the northernmost country in Africa. It is an Arab Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area is almost 165,000 square kilometres (64,000 sq mi), with an estimated population of just under 10.7 million. Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the northeast.
Tunisia is the smallest country in North Africa. The south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert, with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline.
Tunisia has relations with both the European Union—with whom it has an association agreement—and the Arab world. Tunisia is also a member of the Arab Maghreb Union, the Arab League, and the African Union. Tunisia has established close relations with France in particular, through economic cooperation, industrial modernization, and privatisation programs.
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Uganda
Coordinates: 1°17′N 32°23′E / 1.28°N 32.39°E / 1.28; 32.39
Uganda ( /juːˈɡændə/ yew-GAN-də or /juːˈɡɑːndə/ yew-GAHN-də), officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by Tanzania. The southern part of the country includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, which is also shared by Kenya and Tanzania.
Uganda takes its name from the Buganda kingdom, which encompasses a large portion of the south of the country including the capital Kampala.
The people of Uganda were hunter-gatherers until 1,700 to 2,300 years ago, when Bantu-speaking populations migrated to the southern parts of the country. Uganda gained independence from Britain on 9 October 1962.
The official languages are English and Swahili, although multiple other languages are spoken in the country.
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United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emiratesi/juːˌnaɪtɨd ˌærəb ˈɛmɪrɨts/ (Arabic: دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة, Al Imārāt al ‘Arabīyah al Muttaḥidah), sometimes simply called the Emirates or the UAE, is a country situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman to the east and Saudi Arabia to the south, as well as sharing sea borders with Qatar to the west and Iran to the north.
The UAE is a federation of seven emirates (equivalent to principalities), each governed by a hereditary emir, with a single national president. The constituent emirates are Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain. The capital is Abu Dhabi, which is also the state's center of political, industrial, and cultural activities.
Prior to independence in 1971, the UAE was known as the Trucial States or Trucial Oman, in reference to a 19th-century truce between the local sheikhs, hereditary rulers of the territories, and the United Kingdom. The term Pirate Coast was also used by some to refer to the emirates from the 18th to the early 20th century, owing to the preponderance of pirates operating from Emirati ports.
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United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain) is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The country includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea.
The United Kingdom is a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system, with its seat of government in the capital city of London. It is a country in its own right and consists of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There are three devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Associated with the UK, but not constitutionally part of it, are three Crown Dependencies. The United Kingdom has fourteen overseas territories. These are remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in 1922, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface and was the largest empire in history. British influence can still be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former territories.
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United States
The United States of America (commonly abbreviated to the United States, the U.S., the USA, America, and the States) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west, across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2) and with over 312 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and the third largest by both land area and population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy, with an estimated 2011 GDP of $15.1 trillion (22% of nominal global GDP and over 19% of global GDP at purchasing-power parity). Per capita income is the world's sixth-highest.
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Warsangali Sultanate
The Warsangali Sultanate (Somali: Saldanadda Warsangeli, Arabic: سلطنة الورسنجلي) was a Somali imperial ruling house centered in northeastern and in some parts of southeastern Somalia. It was one of the largest sultanates ever established in the territory, and, at the height of its power, included the Sanaag region and parts of the northeastern Bari region of the country, an area historically known as Maakhir or the Maakhir Coast. The Sultanate was founded in the late 13th century in northern Somalia by a group of Somalis from the Warsangali branch of the Darod clan, and was ruled by the descendants of the Gerad Dhidhin. In the late 19th century, the influential Sultan Mohamoud Ali Shire governed the Sultanate, assuming control during some of its most turbulent years. The Akil Dhahar ruled south of Sanaag and some portions of the Bari region. In 1884, the United Kingdom established the protectorate of British Somaliland through various treaties with the northern Somali sultanates, including the Warsangali Sultanate.
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Western Sahara
Coordinates: 25°N 13°W / 25°N 13°W / 25; -13
Western Sahara (USi/ˌwɛstərn səˈhærə/, UK /ˌwɛstən səˈhɑrə/; Arabic: الصحراء الغربية Aṣ-Ṣaḥrā’ al-Gharbīyah; Spanish: Sahara Occidental), is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to 266,000 square kilometres (103,000 sq mi). It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly consisting of desert flatlands. The population is estimated at just over 500,000, many of whom live in El Aaiún (also called Laâyoune), the largest city in Western Sahara.
A colony of Spain since the late 19th century, the Western Sahara has been on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories since 1963. In 1965, the UN General Assembly adopted its first resolution on Western Sahara, asking Spain to decolonise the territory. One year later, a new resolution was passed by the General Assembly requesting that a referendum be held by Spain on self-determination. In 1975, Spain relinquished the administrative control of the territory to a joint administration by Morocco, which had formally claimed the territory since 1957, and Mauritania. A war erupted between those countries and the Sahrawi national liberation movement Polisario Front, which proclaimed the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) (exiled government in Tindouf, Algeria). Mauritania withdrew in 1979 and Morocco eventually secured effective control of most of the territory, including all the major cities and natural resources.
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Woqooyi Galbeed
Woqooyi Galbeed, also known as Maroodi Jeex, is an administrative region (gobolka) in northwestern Somalia. It lies in the territory of Somaliland, a self-declared republic that is internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Somalia.
Woqooyi Galbeed is bordered by Ethiopia to the south, the Somalian regions of Awdal, Sanaag and Togdheer, and the Gulf of Aden. The highest point in the region is Mount Buuraha Wagar (2004 meters), which rises southeast of Berbera. Its capital is Hargeisa.
The Woqooyi Galbeed region consists of the following districts:
Woqooyi Galbeed was later renamed Maroodi Jeex by the Somaliland regional administration, which also divided the province to create three other sub-regions: Gabiley, Gaaroodi and Hawd.
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Yale University
Yale University is an American private Ivy League research university located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States.
Incorporated as the "Collegiate School," the institution traces its roots to 17th-century clergymen who sought to establish a college to train clergy and political leaders for the colony. In 1718, the College was renamed "Yale College" to honor a gift from Elihu Yale, a governor of the British East India Company. In 1861, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences became the first U.S. school to award the PhD. Yale became a founding member of the Association of American Universities in 1900. Yale College was transformed, beginning in the 1930s, through the establishment of residential colleges: 12 now exist and two more are planned. Yale employs over 1,100 faculty to teach and advise about 5,300 undergraduate and 6,100 graduate and professional students. Almost all tenured professors teach undergraduate courses, more than 2,000 of which are offered annually.
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Yemen
The Republic of Yemen (Arabic: الجمهورية اليمنية al-Jumhūrīyah al-Yamanīyah), commonly known as Yemeni/ˈjɛmən/ (Arabic: اليَمَن al-Yaman), is a country located in Western Asia, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east. Yemen is considered one of the poorest countries in the Arab world. Its capital and largest city is Sana'a. Yemen's territory includes over 200 islands, the largest of which is Socotra, about 415 km (258 mi) to the south of mainland Yemen, off the coast of Somalia. It is the only state in the Arabian Peninsula to have a purely republican form of government. Approximately 53% of Yemenis are Sunnis, while 45% are Zaydi Shias.
One etymology derives Yemen from yamin, meaning "on the right side", as the south is on the right when facing the sunrise. Another derives Yemen from yumn, meaning "felicity", as the region is fertile. The Romans called it Arabia Felix (Happy Arabia) as opposed to Arabia Deserta (Deserted Arabia), which was their term for northern Arabia.
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Yubbe
Yubbe (also known as Yube, Yubeh and Yubbe Tug) is a town in the northern Sanaag region of Somalia. It is situated in the Yubbe District.
A desert town mostly inhabited by nomads, Yubbe is home to numerous old archaeological structures. While visiting the locality in the 19th century, the British explorer John Hanning Speke described having seen various tumuli. Of these, he reported that one contained "a hollow compartment propped up by beams of timber, at the bottom of which, buried in the ground, were several earthenware pots, some leaden coins, a ring of gold such as the Indian Mussulman women wear in their noses, and various other miscellaneous property."
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Zambia
Zambia ( /ˈzæmbiə/), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west. The capital city is Lusaka, located in the south-central part of the country. The population is concentrated mainly around Lusaka in the south and the Copperbelt Province to the northwest.
Originally inhabited by Khoisan peoples, the region which comprises modern Zambia was colonised during the Bantu expansion of the thirteenth century. After visits by European explorers in the eighteenth century, Zambia became the British colony of Northern Rhodesia towards the end of the nineteenth century. For most of the colonial period, the country was governed by an administration appointed from London with the advice of the British South Africa Company.
On 24 October 1964, the country declared independence from the United Kingdom and then-prime minister Kenneth Kaunda became the inaugural president. Kaunda's socialist United National Independence Party (UNIP) maintained power from the 1964 until 1991. From 1972 to 1991 Zambia was a single-party state with the UNIP as the sole-legal political party, with the goal of uniting the nation under the banner of 'One Zambia, One Nation'. Kaunda was succeeded by Frederick Chiluba of the social-democratic Movement for Multi-Party Democracy in 1991, during which the country saw a rise in social-economic growth and increased decentralisation of government.
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Zanzibar
Zanzibar ( /ˈzænzɨbɑr/; from Arabic: زنجبار Zanjibār, from Persian: زنگبار Zangibār "Coast of Blacks"; zangi [black-skinned] + bār [coast]) is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, 25–50 kilometres (16–31 mi) off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, informally referred to as Zanzibar), and Pemba. Other nearby island countries and territories include Comoros and Mayotte to the south, Mauritius and Réunion to the far southeast, and the Seychelles Islands about 1,500 km to the east. Arab and Portuguese traders visited the region in early times, and it was controlled by Omanis in the 18th and 19th centuries. Britain established a protectorate (1890) that became an independent sultanate in December 1963 and a republic after an uprising in January 1964. In April 1964 it joined Tanganyika to form a new republic that was renamed Tanzania in October 1964. The capital of Zanzibar, located on the island of Unguja, is Zanzibar City, and its historic centre, known as Stone Town, is a World Heritage Site.
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Zeila
Zeila, also known as Zaila (Somali: Saylac, Arabic: زيلع), is a port city on the Gulf of Aden coast, situated in the northwestern Awdal region of Somalia.
Located near the Djibouti border, the town sits on a sandy spit surrounded by the sea. It is known for its offshore islands, coral reef and mangroves. Landward, the terrain is unbroken desert for some fifty miles. Berbera is 170 miles (270 km) southeast of Zeila, while the Ethiopian city of Harar is 200 miles (320 km) to the west.
Local control of Zeila is disputed between Awdalland, a proposed autonomous state, and Somaliland, a self-declared sovereign state that is internationally recognised as an autonomous region of Somalia.
Zeila is a very old city and has been identified with what was referred to in classical antiquity as the city of the Avalitae. According to Richard Pankhurst, the city first appears under its own name at least as early as 891, when the geographer al-Yaqubi mentions Zeila in his Kitab al-Balden ("Book of the countries"). Zeila is described by successive geographers who include al-Masudi, who wrote his Muruj adh-dhahab wa ma'adin al-jawhar ("Meadows of Gold and Mines of Precious Stones") c. 935; and Ibn Hawqal who described it as the port of embarkation from Ethiopia for Hijaz and Yemen in his Kitab Surat al-'Ard ("Configuration of the Earth"), which he completed in 988.
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Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (/zɪmˈbɑːbweɪ/ zim-BAHB-way; officially the Republic of Zimbabwe) is a landlocked country of southern Africa. It shares a 125-mile (200-kilometre) border on the south with the Republic of South Africa and is bounded on the southwest and west by Botswana, on the north by Zambia, and on the northeast and east by Mozambique. The capital is Harare (formerly called Salisbury). Zimbabwe achieved majority rule and internationally recognised independence in April 1980 following a long period of colonial rule and a 15-year period of white-dominated minority rule, instituted after the minority regime’s so-called Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) in 1965.
Zimbabwe has three official languages: English, Shona and Ndebele. Zimbabwe began as the British self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia, created from land held by the British South Africa Company. President Robert Mugabe is the head of State and Commander in Chief of the armed forces. Morgan Tsvangirai is the Prime Minister. Mugabe has been in power since the country's internationally recognised independence in 1980.
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Abdirahman Saylici
Abdirahman Abdallahi Ismail Saylici (Somali: Cabdiraxmaan Cabdilaahi Ismaaciil Saylici) is the Vice President of Somaliland, after winning the election of 2010 together with Ahmed M. Mahamoud Silanyo. Both are members of the Peace, Unity, and Development Party.
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Abdullahi Issa
Abdullahi Issa Mohamud (Somali: Cabdullahi Ciise Maxamuud, Arabic: عبد الله عيسى محمد) –1922-1988) was the first Prime Minister of Somalia from February 29, 1956 to July 1, 1960.
Issa was born in Somalia in 1922 to a Habar Gidir Hawiye family. When the Second World War broke out, he was still a student. As a boy, he attended a local Qur'anic school (madrassah), and later studied at an Italian government institution.
After the turmoil of the war years, Issa joined the Somali Youth League (SYL) at its onset. He typified the Somali political elite of the period, as he was "young (age 38), intelligent, largely self-educated, confident, and determined". He soon became one of the leaders of the SYL, and was eventually appointed the party's Secretary-General.
Issa later went to Paris and New York as an SYL delegate to proclaim the right of the Somali people to independence. After being appointed to office as an SYL deputy in the political elections of 1956, he was called in the same year to form Somalia's first government, thus becoming the nation's first Prime Minister.
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Afar language
Afar (Qafár af) is a Lowland East Cushitic language spoken in Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti. It is believed to have 1.5 million speakers, the Afar. The basic word order in Afar, like in other East Cushitic languages, is subject–object–verb. Its speakers have a literacy rate of between one and three per cent. Its closest relative is the Saho language.
In Eritrea, Afar is recognized as one of nine national languages which formally enjoy equal status (though Tigrinya and Arabic are by far of greatest significance in official usage). There are daily broadcasts in the national radio and a translated version of the Eritrean constitution. In education, however, Afar speakers prefer Arabic – which many of them speak as a second language – as the language of instruction. In the Afar Region of Ethiopia, Afar is partially used in some of the few schools, while Amharic is the region's working language.
The consonants of the Afar language in the standard orthography are listed below (with IPA notation in brackets):
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Bajuni people
The Bajuni people are a minority ethnic group that live in East Africa.
The Bajuni principally inhabit the tiny Bajuni Islands in the Indian Ocean. Many also traditionally reside in Kenya, mainly in Mombasa and other towns in that country's Coast Province. Some are also found in the Kismayo region in more northerly Somalia.
The population's members trace their origins to diverse groups, primarily coastal Bantu and bushmanoid hunter-gather groups, as well as later additions such as Arab, Persian and Cushitic immigrants.
The Bajuni are traditionally fishermen and sailors. Some also pursue other trades such as metalwork.
The Bajuni people collectively refer to themselves and are known as Wabajuni. They speak Kibajuni, a dialect of the Bantu Swahili language.
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Dahir Riyale Kahin
Dahir Rayale Kahin (Somali: Dahir Rayale Kahin, Arabic: ضاهر ريالي كاهن) (born 12 March 1952) was the third President of Somaliland, a self-declared republic that is internationally recognized as a part of Somalia. He became the third president of Somaliland on May 3, 2002, after the death of Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal. He won elections on April 14, 2003, representing the Ururka Dimuqraadiga Umada Bahawday (UDUB), or United Democratic People's Party, and was sworn into office on May 16, 2003.
Kahin was born in the town of Quljeed in the northwestern Awdal region of British Somaliland. He was educated in Amoud, and was later trained in Mogadishu.
Kahin's previous posts included a diplomatic position at the Somali Embassy in Djibouti, intelligence in the government of former president Mohamed Siad Barre, a stint as governor of Awdal and as a businessman, and a term as vice president of Somaliland (1997–2002).
In the last years of the Barre government, during the 1980s, Kahin was the highest-ranking National Security Service (NSS) officer in Berbera.
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French people
The French (French: Français) are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups. Within France, the French are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence.
However, the word can also refer to people of French descent who are found in other countries, with significant French-speaking population groups or not, such as Argentina (French Argentines), Brazil (French Brazilians), French West Indies (the French Caribbean people), Canada (French Canadians) and the United States (French Americans), and some of them have a French cultural identity. The United Kingdom also has a large French population, mainly in England, and due to historic relations and immigration.
To be French, according to the first article of the Constitution, is to be a citizen of France, regardless of one's origin, race, or religion (sans distinction d'origine, de race ou de religion). According to its principles, France has devoted herself to the destiny of a proposition nation, a generic territory where people are bounded only by the French language and the assumed willingness to live together, as defined by Ernest Renan's "plébiscite de tous les jours" ("daily referendum" on the willingness to live together, in Renan's 1882 essay "Qu'est-ce qu'une nation?").
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Javier Solana
Francisco Javier Solana de Madariaga, KOGF (Spanish pronunciation: [fɾanˈθisko xaˈβjer soˈlana ðe maðaˈɾjaɣa], born 14 July 1942) is a Spanish physicist and Socialist politician. After serving in the Spanish government under Felipe González (1982–1995) and Secretary General of NATO (1995–1999), he was appointed the European Union's High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Secretary General of the Council of the European Union and Secretary-General of the Western European Union and held these posts from October 1999 until December 2009.
Solana was born in Madrid, Spain. He comes from a well-known Spanish family, being the grand nephew of Spanish League of Nations disarmament chief, diplomat, writer and European integrationist Salvador de Madariaga (Javier's grandfather, Rogelio de Madariaga y Castro and Salvador de Madariaga were cousins). His father was a chemistry professor, Luis Solana San Martín, who died when Javier was nineteen. His mother, Obdulia Madariaga Pérez, died in 2005. Javier is the third of five children. His older brother Luis was once imprisoned for his political activities opposing the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, subsequently became a distinguished leader in the Spanish telecommunications industry and was one of the first socialist members of the Trilateral Commission.
wn.com/Javier_Solana -
Meles Zenawi
Meles Zenawi Asres (Ge'ez: መለስ ዜናዊ አስረስ Mäläs Zenawi Äsräs; born 8 May 1955) has been the Prime Minister of Ethiopia since 1995. He was President of Ethiopia from 1991 to 1995. Since 1985, he has been chairman of the Tigrayan Peoples' Liberation Front (TPLF), and he is head of the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).
Meles was born in Adwa, Tigray in Northern Ethiopia, to an Ethiopian father from Adwa, Ethiopia, and a mother from Adi Quala, Eritrea. He graduated from the General Wingate high school in Addis Ababa, then studied medicine at Addis Ababa University (at the time known as Haile Selassie University) for two years before interrupting his studies in 1975 to join the TPLF. While a member of the TPLF, he founded the Marxist-Leninist League of Tigray. His first name at birth was "Legesse" (thus Legesse Zenawi, Ge'ez: ለገሰ ዜናዊ legesse zēnāwī) but he is better known by his nom de guerre Meles. He later changed his first name to "Meles" in honor of a University student and a revolutionary radical who was executed by the previous government in 1975.
wn.com/Meles_Zenawi -
Mohamoud Ali Shire
Mohamoud Ali Shire (Somali: Maxamuud Cali Shiire, Arabic: محمود علي شيري) was a Somali ruler. He was the 26th Sultan of the Warsangali Sultanate, reigning from 1897 to 1960.
Also known as the Gerad, the Sultan was the sole regent and governor of the sultanate. He also enjoyed many other titles, including "Sovereign of the House of North East of Somaliland Sultanate" and "Sultan of Sultans of Somaliland". However, early rulers of the sultanate never referred to themselves as Sultan. The Sultan title was only later established by Mohamoud Ali Shire in 1897. The dynasty, for its part, is most often referred to as the "Gerad" or the "House of North East Somaliland Sultanate".
In 1896, a power struggle developed between Mohamoud Ali Shire and his father, the powerful Gerad Ali Shire who then ruled the Warsangali Sultanate. The elder Gerad Ali Shire's authority was dwindling and young Mohamoud Ali Shire, with the tacit support of the Isse Garad (Bohogayslabe) sub-clan of the Warsangali Darod, sought to undermine the power of his father. Before then, internal conflict amongst the Warsangali sub-clans had surfaced and had had an effect on Sultan Mohamoud Ali Shire and his ascension to power. The disarray caused by the young Mohamoud amongst the Warsangali was finally settled by the proposal that Shire fils should become Sultan, while his father could remain Gerad. Thus, Mohamoud Ali Shire assumed the title of the 20th Sultan of the Warsangali Sultanate.
wn.com/Mohamoud_Ali_Shire -
Oromo language
Oromo, also known as Afaan Oromo, Oromiffa(a) (and sometimes in other languages by variant spellings of these names; Oromic, Afan Oromo, etc.), is an Afro-Asiatic language. It is the most widely spoken tongue in the family's Cushitic branch. Forms of Oromo are spoken as a first language by more than 25 million Oromo and neighbouring peoples in Ethiopia and parts of northern Kenya. Some linguists think of Oromo as a dialect continuum, since not all varieties are mutually intelligible. It is a sociolinguistic language, consisting of four varieties: Borana–Arsi–Guji Oromo, Eastern Oromo (also called Qottu), Orma, and West Central Oromo. Older publications often refer to the language as Galla, a term that is considered pejorative and no longer used.
About 95 percent of Oromo speakers live in Ethiopia, mainly in Oromia Region. In Somalia, there are also some speakers of the language. In Kenya, the Ethnologue also lists 322,000 speakers of Borana and Orma, two languages closely related to Ethiopian Oromo. Within Ethiopia, Oromo is the second most spoken widely spoken language.
wn.com/Oromo_language -
Shire Jama Ahmed
Shire Jama Ahmed (Somali: Shire Jaamac Axmed, Arabic: شيري جامع أحمد) was a Somali linguist who is credited with having devised a unique Latin script for transcribing the Somali language. Shire Jama's winning Somali Orthoraphy was chosen from eighteen competing new orthographies in 1972 by the Language Committee and the ruling party. The committee commenced its work back in 1960.
In the late 1960s, Shire and a few other Somali linguists presented before the Somali Language Committee, an organization in charge of settling Somalia's outstanding language issue, and eventually deciding between several prospective orthographies. These scripts ranged from Arabic to some resembling Ge'ez, an ancient Ethio-Semitic writing system. Among those proposed was the Osmanya script, an orthography invented in the early twentieth century by the Majeerteen poet and ruler, Osman Yusuf Kenadid, which had enjoyed a strong following. Shire's competing orthography, for its part, was derived from Latin characters, and it omitted a few letters (p, v and z) to accommodate the unique sounds of the Somali language. Shire also introduced combination letters (kh, dh and sh), which were in many ways exclusive to the language. In 1972, his proven orthography was selected as Somalia's national writing script for Af Soomaali (as the Somali language is traditionally referred to).
wn.com/Shire_Jama_Ahmed -
Siad Barre
Mohamed Siad Barre (Somali: Maxamed Siyaad Barre, Arabic: محمّد زياد بري) (October 6, 1919 – January 2, 1995) was the military dictator and President of the Somali Democratic Republic from 1969 to 1991. During his rule, he styled himself as Jaalle Siyaad ("Comrade Siad").
At the time of independence in 1960, Somalia was touted in the West as the model of a democracy in Africa. However, clanism and extended family loyalties and conflicts were social problems the civilian government failed to eradicate and eventually succumbed to itself.
The Barre-led military junta that came to power after a coup d'état in 1969 said it would adapt scientific socialism to the needs of Somalia. It drew heavily from the traditions of China. Volunteer labour harvested and planted crops, and built roads and hospitals. Almost all industry, banks and businesses were nationalised, and cooperative farms were promoted. The government forbade clanism and stressed loyalty to the central authorities. A new writing script for the Somali language was also adopted. To spread the new language and the methods and message of the revolution, secondary schools were closed in 1974 and 25,000 students from fourteen to sixteen years of age and an additional 3,000 military and civil service employees were sent to rural areas to educate their nomadic relatives.
wn.com/Siad_Barre -
Somali Bantu
The Somali Bantu (also called Jareer, Gosha or Mushunguli) are an ethnic minority group in Somalia who primarily reside in the southern part of the country, near the Juba and Shabelle rivers. They are descendants of people from various Bantu ethnic groups, most of whom were captured from Southeast Africa and sold into slavery in Somalia and other areas in Northeast Africa and Asia as part of the 19th century Arab slave trade. Bantus are ethnically, physically, and culturally distinct from Somalis, and they have remained marginalized ever since their arrival in Somalia.
These Bantu are not to be confused with the members of Swahili society in coastal towns, such as the Bajuni, who speak dialects of the Bantu Swahili language.
All in all, the number of Bantu inhabitants in Somalia before the civil war is thought to have been about 80,000 (1970 estimate), with most concentrated between the Juba and Shabelle rivers in the south. However, recent estimates place the figure as high as 900,000 persons.
wn.com/Somali_Bantu -
Somali Civil War
The Somali Civil War is an ongoing civil war taking place in Somalia. It began in 1991, when a coalition of clan-based armed opposition groups ousted the nation's long-standing military government.
Various factions began competing for influence in the power vacuum that followed, which precipitated an aborted UN peacekeeping attempt in the mid-1990s. A period of decentralization ensued, characterized by a return to customary and religious law in many areas as well as the establishment of autonomous regional governments in the northern part of the country. The early 2000s saw the creation of fledgling interim federal administrations, culminating in the establishment of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in 2004. In 2006, the TFG, assisted by Ethiopian troops, assumed control of most of the nation's southern conflict zones from the newly formed Islamic Courts Union (ICU). The ICU subsequently splintered into more radical groups, notably Al-Shabaab, which have since been fighting the Transitional Federal Government and its AMISOM allies for control of the region. In 2011, a coordinated military operation between the Somali military and multinational forces began, which is believed to represent one of the final stages in the war's Islamist insurgency.
wn.com/Somali_Civil_War -
Somali diaspora
The Somali diaspora refers to expatriate Somalis who reside in areas of the world that have traditionally not been inhabited by their ethnic group. The Somali Civil War greatly increased the size of the Somali diaspora, as many of the best educated Somalis left for the Middle East, Europe and North America.
While the distribution of Somalis per country in Europe is difficult to measure since the Somali expatriate community on the continent has grown so quickly in recent years, there are significant Somali communities in the United Kingdom: 108,000; the Netherlands: 31,237 (2011);Sweden: 21,597 (2007);Norway: 19,656 (2007);Denmark: 16,550 (2008); and Finland: 14,045 (2011).
Although most Somalis in the United Kingdom are recent arrivals, the first Somalis to arrive were seamen and traders who settled in port cities in the late 19th century. By 2001, the UK census reported 43,532 Somali-born residents, making the Somali community in Britain the largest Somali expatriate population in Europe. An official 2010 estimate indicates that 108,000 Somalis live in the UK, with Somali community organisations putting the figure at 90,000 residents.
wn.com/Somali_diaspora -
Somali people
Somalis (Somali: Soomaaliyeed, Arabic: الصوماليون) are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Ethnic Somalis number around 15-17 million and are principally concentrated in Somalia (more than 10 million), Ethiopia (4.6 million), Yemen (a little under 1 million), Kenya (900,000), Djibouti (464,600), and an unknown but large number live in parts of the Middle East, North America and Europe.
Samaale, the oldest common ancestor of several Somali clans, is generally regarded as the source of the ethnonym Somali. The name "Somali" is, in turn, held to be derived from the words soo and maal, which together mean "go and milk" — a reference to the ubiquitous pastoralism of the Somali people. Another plausible etymology proposes that the term Somali is derived from the Arabic for "wealthy" (dhawamaal), again referring to Somali riches in livestock.
wn.com/Somali_people -
Tony Worthington
William Anthony Worthington, known as Tony Worthington (born October 11, 1941) is a retired politician in the United Kingdom.
He was brought up in Lincoln, attending the City School (a boys' grammar school) on Monks Road in Lincoln. He gained a BA in Sociology and Social Policy from the London School of Economics and a MEd from the University of Glasgow. From the University of York, he gained a PGCE, and then an Advanced PGCE from Durham University.
From 1962-6 he was a lecturer in Social Policy and Sociology at HM Borstal, Dover, then at Monkwearmouth College of Further of Education (merged with Wearside College in 1996 to form the City of Sunderland College) from 1967–71, then from 1971-87 at Jordanhill College of Further Education in Glasgow. He was a councillor on Strathclyde council from 1974-87.
He was Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Clydebank and Milngavie from 1987 until his retirement from Parliament in 2005. In 1979, he tried to win the Labour nomination for the Strathclyde West seat in the European Parliament.
wn.com/Tony_Worthington
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Farxiya Fiska New Song Somaliland 2012
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:57
- Updated: 25 Jan 2013
Gob Films Subscribe Share and comment
http://wn.com/Farxiya_Fiska_New_Song_Somaliland_2012
Somaliland Foreign Minister DubaiOneTV Interview 20/01/2013
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:59
- Updated: 25 Jan 2013
www.facebook.com Somaliland Foreign Minister Dr Mohamed Omar DubaiOneTV Interview.
http://wn.com/Somaliland_Foreign_Minister_DubaiOneTV_Interview_20_01_2013
www.facebook.com Somaliland Foreign Minister Dr Mohamed Omar DubaiOneTV Interview.
- published: 23 Jan 2013
- views: 1871
- author: somaliland247
Feysal Cali Waraabe:- Somaliland oo jug weyn soo gaartay.flv
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:13
- Updated: 22 Jan 2013
www.xildhibanpublications.com Hoggaamiyaha xisbiga mucaaridka UCID Feysal Cali Waraabe oo ka hadlay walaacna ka muujiyay aqoonsiga Mareykanka ee dowladda Soomaaliya.
http://wn.com/Feysal_Cali_Waraabe_Somaliland_oo_jug_weyn_soo_gaartayflv
www.xildhibanpublications.com Hoggaamiyaha xisbiga mucaaridka UCID Feysal Cali Waraabe oo ka hadlay walaacna ka muujiyay aqoonsiga Mareykanka ee dowladda Soomaaliya.
- published: 20 Jan 2013
- views: 132
- author: Abdulaziz Ali Ibrahim
Somaliland BBC Report
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:01
- Updated: 17 Jan 2013
www.facebook.com January 2012
http://wn.com/Somaliland_BBC_Report
xafladii somaliland 2012 Ottawa, Heestii Nuur Daalacey somaliland Allows Dhowr Cadceed.com
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:20
- Updated: 24 May 2012
Wacdarihii Fanaaniinta Caanka Ah Ee laga dabadhacay Cawaale Adan Iyo Nuur Daalacey Ka Dhigeen Dabaaldega Xaflada 18-ka May Ee Ottawa
http://wn.com/xafladii_somaliland_2012_Ottawa,_Heestii_Nuur_Daalacey_somaliland_Allows_Dhowr_Cadceedcom
Wacdarihii Fanaaniinta Caanka Ah Ee laga dabadhacay Cawaale Adan Iyo Nuur Daalacey Ka Dhigeen Dabaaldega Xaflada 18-ka May Ee Ottawa
- published: 23 May 2012
- views: 29071
- author: Mustafa Ali
THE NEW CITY OF HARGESIA SOMALILAND
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:06
- Updated: 25 Jan 2013
HARGESIA
http://wn.com/THE_NEW_CITY_OF_HARGESIA_SOMALILAND
HARGEYSA: MD Somaliland ayaa ka hadlay doorashadii golayaasha deegaanka WARKA SOMALI CHANNEL
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:28
- Updated: 25 Jan 2013
Madaxwaynaha Somaliland ayaa ka hadlay doorashadii golayaasha deegaanka ee Somaliland.
http://wn.com/HARGEYSA_MD_Somaliland_ayaa_ka_hadlay_doorashadii_golayaasha_deegaanka_WARKA_SOMALI_CHANNEL
Madaxwaynaha Somaliland ayaa ka hadlay doorashadii golayaasha deegaanka ee Somaliland.
- published: 31 Dec 2012
- views: 2665
- author: somali channel
heesta calanka somaliland 09
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:00
- Updated: 25 Jan 2013
heesta calanka somaliland 09
http://wn.com/heesta_calanka_somaliland_09
Inside Story - Somaliland vs Somalia
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 24:27
- Updated: 21 Jan 2013
Amid the chaos that has afflicted Somalia in recent decades, there is an oasis of relative calm that is ignored by the rest of the world. Why has Somaliland succeeded in creating effective governance and a viable economy while mainland Somalia tops the list of failed states with rampant lawlessness and piracy?
http://wn.com/Inside_Story_Somaliland_vs_Somalia
Amid the chaos that has afflicted Somalia in recent decades, there is an oasis of relative calm that is ignored by the rest of the world. Why has Somaliland succeeded in creating effective governance and a viable economy while mainland Somalia tops the list of failed states with rampant lawlessness and piracy?
- published: 24 Jun 2010
- views: 150966
- author: AlJazeeraEnglish
Siyaasi BUUBAA oo baaq udiray PUNTLAND IYO SOMALILAND 26 12 2012 SOMALI CHANNEL
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:13
- Updated: 24 Jan 2013
SOMALI CHANNEL
http://wn.com/Siyaasi_BUUBAA_oo_baaq_udiray_PUNTLAND_IYO_SOMALILAND_26_12_2012_SOMALI_CHANNEL
THE NEW SOMALILAND
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:30
- Updated: 23 Jan 2013
SOMALILAND
http://wn.com/THE_NEW_SOMALILAND
HARGEYSA: MD Somaliland ayaa casho sharaf ku qaabilay madaxda xisbiyada WARKA SOMALI CHANNEL
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:21
- Updated: 20 Jan 2013
madaxweynaha somaliland ayaa casho sharaf ku qaabilay madaxda xisbiyada somaliland. Madaxwayna waxaa sidoo kale maanta xadhiga ka jaray wadooyin laga hirgaliyey xaafado ka mid ah magaalada hargeysa.
http://wn.com/HARGEYSA_MD_Somaliland_ayaa_casho_sharaf_ku_qaabilay_madaxda_xisbiyada_WARKA_SOMALI_CHANNEL
madaxweynaha somaliland ayaa casho sharaf ku qaabilay madaxda xisbiyada somaliland. Madaxwayna waxaa sidoo kale maanta xadhiga ka jaray wadooyin laga hirgaliyey xaafado ka mid ah magaalada hargeysa.
- published: 29 Dec 2012
- views: 469
- author: somali channel
Somaliland could be a desert in 20 years
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:14
- Updated: 05 Jan 2013
Environmentalists say the semi-autonomous region of Somaliland in northern Somalia could become a huge desert, unless deforestation is stopped. Duration: 02:13.
http://wn.com/Somaliland_could_be_a_desert_in_20_years
Environmentalists say the semi-autonomous region of Somaliland in northern Somalia could become a huge desert, unless deforestation is stopped. Duration: 02:13.
- published: 19 Nov 2012
- views: 1864
- author: AFP
Doorashada Somaliland-28-11-2012
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 45:05
- Updated: 29 Dec 2012
www.universaltv.co
http://wn.com/Doorashada_Somaliland-28-11-2012
HARGEYSA: MD SOMALILAND oo maanta xadhiga ka jaray Wadooyin WARKA SOMALI CHANNEL
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:28
- Updated: 20 Jan 2013
Madaxwayna waxaa sidoo kale maanta xadhiga ka jaray Wadooyin laga hirgaliyey xaafado ka mid ah Magaalada Hargeysa.
http://wn.com/HARGEYSA_MD_SOMALILAND_oo_maanta_xadhiga_ka_jaray_Wadooyin_WARKA_SOMALI_CHANNEL
Madaxwayna waxaa sidoo kale maanta xadhiga ka jaray Wadooyin laga hirgaliyey xaafado ka mid ah Magaalada Hargeysa.
- published: 29 Dec 2012
- views: 432
- author: somali channel
![THE HISTORY OF [SNM] SOMALILAND](http://web.archive.org./web/20130126191453im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/WYPF1AbIeKo/default.jpg "THE HISTORY OF [SNM] SOMALILAND")
THE HISTORY OF [SNM] SOMALILAND
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 47:55
- Updated: 07 Jan 2013
SOMALILAND
http://wn.com/THE_HISTORY_OF_SNM_SOMALILAND
SOMALILAND Madaxweynaha Somaliland ayaa maanta furay shirweynihii 6 aad ee dhalinyarada Somaliland ee Sonyo 27 12 2012 SOMALI CHANNEL
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:27
- Updated: 20 Jan 2013
http://wn.com/SOMALILAND_Madaxweynaha_Somaliland_ayaa_maanta_furay_shirweynihii_6_aad_ee_dhalinyarada_Somaliland_ee_Sonyo_27_12_2012_SOMALI_CHANNEL
Ethiopian- Somaliland Documentary 1980 by Professor Hussein Mohamed Adam ( Hussein Tanzania) qaybta1
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 25:14
- Updated: 25 Jan 2013
Waa Professor Xuseen Tanzania oo soo diyaariyay Barnaamijkan ka hadlaya Somali Galbeed iyo Dagaalkii Somalia la gashay Ethiopia 1977- 1978, isagoo waraysanaya, Taariikhyahan I. M . Lewis, C/majiid Xuseen (Wasiir hore oo Ethiopia ah oo ka soo jeeda Deegaankaa Somali Galbeed) iyo Wasiirkii Qorshaynta Somalia Axmed Siilaanyo.
http://wn.com/Ethiopian_Somaliland_Documentary_1980_by_Professor_Hussein_Mohamed_Adam_Hussein_Tanzania_qaybta1
Waa Professor Xuseen Tanzania oo soo diyaariyay Barnaamijkan ka hadlaya Somali Galbeed iyo Dagaalkii Somalia la gashay Ethiopia 1977- 1978, isagoo waraysanaya, Taariikhyahan I. M . Lewis, C/majiid Xuseen (Wasiir hore oo Ethiopia ah oo ka soo jeeda Deegaankaa Somali Galbeed) iyo Wasiirkii Qorshaynta Somalia Axmed Siilaanyo.
- published: 24 Jan 2013
- views: 44
- author: gooraani
Eid Al-Freedom - The Holy Month of Ramadan in the Self-Proclaimed Republic of Somaliland - Trailer
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:16
- Updated: 06 Jan 2013
www.indiegogo.com This is a trailer of 'Eid Al-Freedom', a short film that was shot in the Republic of Somaliland during the holy month of Ramadan 2012. Please share this video and help me finish this project by a donating through my Indiegogo campaign.
http://wn.com/Eid_Al-Freedom_The_Holy_Month_of_Ramadan_in_the_Self-Proclaimed_Republic_of_Somaliland_Trailer
www.indiegogo.com This is a trailer of 'Eid Al-Freedom', a short film that was shot in the Republic of Somaliland during the holy month of Ramadan 2012. Please share this video and help me finish this project by a donating through my Indiegogo campaign.
- published: 30 Nov 2012
- views: 17940
- author: Gur Megiddo
al fanaan samj and jeerman Heesti Somaliland Taladeedi Ma Djboutiba laga soo saxa
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:04
- Updated: 25 Jan 2013
Heesti somaliland taladeedi ma djaboutiba laga soo saxa Codadku:JEERMAN&SAMJ; Ereyadii: Abwaan C/Fatax Xasan Sheekh Muumin Music & Laxankuna: Samj ST: Samj
http://wn.com/al_fanaan_samj_and_jeerman_Heesti_Somaliland_Taladeedi_Ma_Djboutiba_laga_soo_saxa
Heesti somaliland taladeedi ma djaboutiba laga soo saxa Codadku:JEERMAN&SAMJ; Ereyadii: Abwaan C/Fatax Xasan Sheekh Muumin Music & Laxankuna: Samj ST: Samj
- published: 24 Jan 2013
- views: 1398
- author: woow ololo
shirikii Jaraaid Wadahadalada Somaliya iyo Somaliland 21 06 2012 SOMALI CHANNEL
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 18:06
- Updated: 12 Dec 2012
SOMALI CHANNEL
http://wn.com/shirikii_Jaraaid_Wadahadalada_Somaliya_iyo_Somaliland_21_06_2012_SOMALI_CHANNEL
Barnaamijka Hereri Iyo Hargeysa Ee Fardoole - Somaliland
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 46:08
- Updated: 24 Jan 2013
www.markacadey.net
http://wn.com/Barnaamijka_Hereri_Iyo_Hargeysa_Ee_Fardoole_Somaliland
Somaliland madaxweyn silanyo oo la hadlaaya qurba jooga reer Somaliland
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:31
- Updated: 25 Jan 2013
Somalia,Somaliland, madaxweyn silanyo oo la hadlaaya qurba jooga reer Somaliland
http://wn.com/Somaliland_madaxweyn_silanyo_oo_la_hadlaaya_qurba_jooga_reer_Somaliland
Somalia,Somaliland, madaxweyn silanyo oo la hadlaaya qurba jooga reer Somaliland
- published: 19 May 2012
- views: 220
- author: dillapress
photo: AP / Mohammad Hannon
25 Jan 2013
Republicans wanted nothing more than to summon Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Capitol Hill and grill her about the tragic fiasco in Benghazi. Sadly for them, they got their wish. Clinton’s smooth and confident performance at Wednesday’s Senate and House committee hearings was fun to watch. When her would-be inquisitors asked serious questions, she gave serious answers. But when Sen ... Fat chance ... Benghazi ... Perhaps not ... ....(size: 4.8Kb)
photo: White House / Pete Souza
24 Jan 2013
Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. In the world of politics and imagination, theater usually trumps theology while history is most often vanquished by histrionics. President Barack Obama's swearing-in ceremony for a second term reflects this truth, specifically as he uses two historic bibles-one belonging to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and another used only by Abraham Lincoln ... "With malice toward none; with charity for all."....(size: 7.3Kb)
photo: UN / Martine Perret
25 Jan 2013
At least one in five people, including half of schoolchildren, were infected with swine flu during the first year of the pandemic in 2009, according to data from 19 countries. It is thought the virus killed 200,000 people around the world. A World Health Organization-led study looked for evidence of the body's immune system fighting the virus ... Anti-bodies ... ....(size: 2.1Kb)
photo: US Army / Edward N. Johnson
25 Jan 2013
By Charles Armstrong, Special to CNN. Editor’s note. Charles Armstrong is the director of the Center for Korean Research at Columbia University. The views expressed are his own. Anyone who has followed North Korean affairs for the last several years (or the last two decades) could have predicted North Korea’s defiant response to the U.N ... sanctions not by giving up missiles and nukes, but ratcheting up the rhetoric ... More from GPS ... Post by ... ... ....(size: 15.8Kb)
photo: AP / Themba Hadebe
25 Jan 2013
Live text commentary as Zambia face Nigeria and Bukina Faso play Ethiopia in Group C of the Africa Cup of Nations. To get live updates & watch our video coverage you must enable Javascript. Watch My Cup of Nations - Daouda Diakite Watch My Cup of Nations - Jacob Mulenga. 25 January 2013 Share this page. print. Get involved. To get involved contact us in any of the following ways Send us a text ... Live Reporting. In Summary ... 1430. ... ....(size: 17.2Kb)
The Star
26 Jan 2013
LONDON (Reuters) - G4S, the world's biggest security firm, is seeing a pick up in demand for its services from embassies and companies across Africa in the wake of unrest in Mali and Algeria. A police Swat team member walks on the roof of G4S cash depot in Vastberga, Stockholm September 23, 2009. REUTERS/Pontus Lundahl/Scanpix ... The group is currently opening in Tunisia and Ethiopia and considering moves into Libya and Somaliland ... ....(size: 3.4Kb)
Gareowe Online
26 Jan 2013
GAROWE, Somalia Jan. 26, 2013 (Garowe Online) - Somalia’s Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Fosia Yusuf Haji Aden and U.N. Special Envoy to Somalia Ambassador Augustine Mahiga have called for the ‘rebuilding of national forces’ in Somalia, Garowe Online reports ... Other Al Shabaab moved to mountain hideouts in Golis Mountain Range of northern Somalia, which stretches between Puntland and Somaliland regions ... The U.S. and E.U ... ....(size: 5.7Kb)
IRINnews
24 Jan 2013
FEEDBACKEMAILPRINTREADER MODE. NAIROBI, 24 January 2013 (IRIN) - The recent execution in Somalia of a soldier convicted of rape and the detention of a journalist investigating sexual assault have given the traditionally taboo issue of gender-based violence an usual degree of prominence. Even the president has weighed in ... A Band-Aid ... "Have we seen an improvement? No ... Reports of rape increasing ... Illegal migration on the rise in Somaliland....(size: 14.4Kb)
All Africa
22 Jan 2013
Mareeg
19 Jan 2013
Mareeg.com-Since their occupation of Lascanod, the regional capital of the Khatumo State of Somalia in October 2007, Somaliland’s militia have subjected the occupied people to continuous human rights violations, crimes against humanity and war crimes ... She was victim to a group of Somaliland militia who, after monstrously raping her, cut her throat and killed her....(size: 5.5Kb)
Mareeg
19 Jan 2013
Mareeg.com-The Local Council Elections that were held in Somaliland on 28th November 2012 left behind bitterness, bloodshed and deep divisions between the clans as wel ... Although the election started in a festive mood, its aftermath proved the fears of observers about the irreparable fissions that such unfettered democracy and flawed electoral system could bring to a tribal society like Somaliland....(size: 21.8Kb)
Voa News
18 Jan 2013
The United States government officially recognized the new Somali government Thursday. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who is visiting Washington, met with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, President Obama and other U.S. officials ... Below are excerpts of the translated interview ... x ... No ... In the previous [London] conference Somaliland was part of the discussion; do you expect a similar approach? ... We recognize Somaliland as part of Somalia ... ....(size: 16.8Kb)
Foreign Policy
18 Jan 2013
Last September, Somalia elected a new president who is being hailed as a leader who can usher that country into a new era of peace, stability, and prosperity ... After the meetings the U.S ... Mohamud said that U.S ... During his meeting with Clinton, Mohamed said, they discussed the status of the enclaves Somaliland and Puntland, how Somalia will relate to its neighbors, and the general path forward for dealing with Somalia's challenges ... ....(size: 6.6Kb)
BBC News
15 Jan 2013
1887 - Britain proclaims protectorate over Somaliland ... 1936 - Italian Somaliland combined with Somali-speaking parts of Ethiopia to form a province of Italian East Africa. 1940 - Italians occupy British Somaliland ... 1950 - Italian Somaliland becomes a UN trust territory under Italian control. 1956 - Italian Somaliland renamed Somalia and granted internal autonomy ... Somaliland breaks away....(size: 22.2Kb)
Mareeg
15 Jan 2013
The British Government invited the Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister of Somalia Fawzia Yusuf Haji Aden and the Foreign Minister of Somaliland Dr ... The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (CFO) website details information about the two below mentioned policy initiatives (Assistance) dedicated to Somalia/Somaliland ... The UK Minister for Africa, Hon Mark Simmonds held talks with the foreign Minister of Somaliland....(size: 13.0Kb)
For other uses, see Somaliland (disambiguation).
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Somaliland
self-declared as Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliland (Somali) جمهورية صوماللاند (Arabic) Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālilānd Republic of Somaliland[1] |
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| Motto: لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله (Arabic) Lā ilāhā illā-llāhu; muhammadun rasūlu-llāhi (transliteration) "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God" |
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| Anthem: "Samo ku waar" ("Long Life with Peace")  |
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| Capital | Hargeisa 9°33′N 44°03′E / 9.55°N 44.05°E / 9.55; 44.05 |
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| Official language(s) | Somali, Arabic, English[2] | |||||
| Demonym | Somali;[3] Somalian[4]
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| Government | Constitutional presidential republic | |||||
| - | President | Ahmed Mahamoud Silanyo | ||||
| - | Vice-President | Abdirahman Saylici | ||||
| - | Speaker of the House | Abdirahman Mohamed Abdilahi | ||||
| Legislature | Parliament | |||||
| - | Upper house | House of Elders | ||||
| - | Lower house | House of Representatives | ||||
| Independence | from Somalia | |||||
| - | Proclaimed | 18 May 1991 | ||||
| - | Recognition | Unrecognized[5][6] | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 137,600 km2 68,000 sq mi |
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| Population | ||||||
| - | 2008 estimate | 3,500,000[7] | ||||
| - | Density | 25/km2 51/sq mi |
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| Currency | Somaliland shilling1 (SLSH) |
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| Time zone | EAT (UTC+3) | |||||
| - | Summer (DST) | not observed (UTC+3) | ||||
| Date formats | d/m/yy (AD) | |||||
| Drives on the | right | |||||
| Calling code | 252 | |||||
| 1 | Currency only valid for regional purposes. Rankings unavailable because it is unrecognised. |
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This article contains Arabic text, written from right to left in a cursive style with some letters joined. Without proper rendering support, you may see unjoined Arabic letters written left-to-right instead of right-to-left or other symbols instead of Arabic script. |
Somaliland (Somali: Soomaaliland, Arabic: صوماللاند Ṣūmālilānd or أرض الصومال Arḍ aṣ-Ṣūmāl) is an unrecognised self-declared de facto sovereign state that is internationally recognised as an autonomous region of Somalia.[5][8] The government of Somaliland regards itself as the successor state to the British Somaliland protectorate, which was independent on June 26, 1960 as the State of Somaliland,[9][10] before uniting with the Trust Territory of Somalia (the former Italian Somaliland) on July 1, 1960 to form the Somali Republic.[9][10][11][12][13]
Somaliland is bordered by Ethiopia in the south and west, Djibouti in the northwest, the Gulf of Aden in the north, and the autonomous Puntland region of Somalia to the east.[14]
In 1988, the Siad Barre regime committed massacres against the people of Somaliland, which were among the events that led to the Somali Civil War. The war left the economic and military infrastructure severely damaged. After the collapse of the central government in 1991, the local government, led by the Somali National Movement (SNM), declared independence from the rest of Somalia on May 18 of the same year.[5][15][16]
Since then, the territory has been governed by an administration that seeks self-determination as the Republic of Somaliland (Somali: Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliland, Arabic: جمهورية صوماللاند Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālilānd).[2][17][18][19] The local government maintains informal ties with some foreign governments, who have sent delegations to Hargeisa.[5][20][21] Ethiopia also maintains a trade office in the region.[22] However, Somaliland's self-proclaimed independence remains unrecognised by any country or international organisation.[5][23][24]
Contents |
History[link]
Main article: History of Somaliland
The earliest human artifacts in the area are the Laas Geel cave paintings, dating from before 3000 BC. The area is sometimes thought to be part of the Land of Punt.[25] Islam was introduced to the area from the 7th to 10th centuries, and small Islamic states sprang up in the area. In 1548 AD, the Ottoman Empire annexed part of what is now western Somaliland. In 1888, after signing successive treaties with the then ruling Somali Sultans such as Mohamoud Ali Shire of the Warsangali Sultanate, the British established a protectorate in the region referred to as British Somaliland.[26] The British garrisoned the protectorate from Aden and administered it as part of British India until 1898. British Somaliland was then administered by the Foreign Office until 1905, and afterwards by the Colonial Office.
Generally, the British did not have much interest in the resource-barren region.[27] The stated purposes of the establishment of the protectorate were to "secure a supply market, check the traffic in slaves, and to exclude the interference of foreign powers."[28] The British principally viewed the protectorate as a source for supplies of meat for their British Indian outpost in Aden through the maintenance of order in the coastal areas and protection of the caravan routes from the interior.[29] Hence, the region's nickname of "Aden's butcher's shop".[30] Colonial administration during this period did not extend administrative infrastructure beyond the coast,[31] and contrasted with the more interventionist colonial experience of Italian Somaliland.[32]
The British Somaliland protectorate became briefly independent on June 26, 1960, with the Trust Territory of Somalia (the former Italian Somaliland) following suit five days later.[11] On July 1, 1960, the two territories united as planned to form the Somali Republic.[12][13] A government was formed by Abdullahi Issa, with Aden Abdullah Osman Daar as President and Abdirashid Ali Shermarke as Prime Minister (later to become President, from 1967 to 1969). On July 20, 1961 and through a popular referendum, the Somali people ratified a new constitution, which was first drafted in 1960.[33] In 1967, Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal became Prime Minister, a position to which he was appointed by Shermarke. Shermarke would be assassinated two years later by one of his own bodyguards. His murder was quickly followed by a military coup d'état on October 21, 1969 (the day after his funeral), in which the Somalian Army seized power without encountering armed opposition. The putsch was spearheaded by Major General Mohamed Siad Barre, who at the time commanded the army.[34] The new regime would go on to rule Somalia for the next 21 years. By the 1990s, the moral authority of Barre's government had collapsed. Many Somalis had become disillusioned with life under military dictatorship. The government became increasingly totalitarian, and resistance movements, encouraged by Ethiopia, sprang up across the country, eventually leading to the Somali Civil War. Among the militia groups was the Isaaq-led Somali National Movement (SNM), based in Hargeisa.
Although the SNM at its inception had a unionist constitution, it eventually began to pursue a separatist agenda, looking to secede from the rest of Somalia.[35] Under the leadership of Abdirahman Ahmed Ali Tuur, the local administration declared the northwestern Somali territories independent at a conference held in Burao between 27 April 1991 and 15 May 1991.[36] Tuur then became the newly established Somaliland polity's first President, but subsequently renounced the separatist platform in 1994 and began instead to publicly seek and advocate reconciliation with the rest of Somalia under a power-sharing federal system of governance.[35] Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal was appointed as Tuur's successor in 1993 by the Grand Conference of National Reconciliation in Borama, which met for four months, leading to a gradual improvement in security, as well as a consolidation of the new territory.[37] Egal was reappointed in 1997, and remained in power until his death on May 3, 2002. The vice president, Dahir Riyale Kahin, who was during the 1980s the highest-ranking National Security Service (NSS) officer in Berbera in Siad Barre's government, was sworn in as president shortly afterwards.[38] In 2003, Kahin became the first elected president of Somaliland.
The war in southern Somalia between Islamist insurgents on the one hand, and the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and its African Union allies on the other, has for the most part not directly affected Somaliland, which, like neighboring Puntland, has remained relatively stable.[39]
Politics and government[link]
Main article: Politics of Somaliland
Somaliland formed a hybrid system of governance under the Constitution of Somaliland, combining traditional and western institutions. In a series of inter-clan conferences, culminating in the Boorama Conference in 1993, a qabil (clan or community) system of government was constructed. This consisted of an Executive with a President, Vice President, and Council of Ministers, a bicameral Legislature, and an independent judiciary.
The traditional Somali council of elders (guurti) was incorporated into the governance structure, becoming the House of Elders in Parliament. The government became in essence a "power-sharing coalition of Somaliland's main clans," with seats in the Upper and Lower houses proportionally allocated to clans according to a predetermined formula, although not all clans are satisfied with their representation. In 2002, after several extensions of this interim government, Somaliland finally made the transition to multi-party democracy, with district council elections contested by six parties.[40]
The Somaliland government is headed by the executive branch, which consists of a directly elected President, a Vice President, and a cabinet nominated by the President and approved by parliament. The President is directly elected, and Presidential elections are confirmed by the National Elections Commission.[41] The President can serve a maximum of two five-year terms. The Parliament of Somaliland is the legislative branch of government. It is a bicameral parliament. Its two houses consist of the House of Elders (Upper House) and the House of Representatives. Each house has 82 members. Members of the House of Elders are elected indirectly by local communities for six-year terms. The House of Elders shares power in passing laws with the House of Representatives, and also has the role of solving internal conflicts, and an exclusive power to extend the terms of the President and representatives under circumstances that make an election impossible. Members of the House of Representatives are directly elected by the people for five-year terms. The House of Representatives shares voting power with the House of Elders, though it can pass a law that the House of Elders rejects if it votes for the law by a 2/3's majority, and has absolute power in financial matters and confirmation of Presidential appointments (except for the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court).[42] However, the Parliament provides weak oversight of the executive branch. The Somaliland judicial system is divided into district courts (which deal with matters of family law and succession, lawsuits for amounts up to 3 million SL, criminal cases punishable by up to 3 years imprisonment or 3 million SL fines, and crimes committed by juveniles), regional courts (which deal with lawsuits and criminal cases not within the jurisdiction of district courts, labour and employment claims, and local government elections), and appeals courts (which deal with all appeals from district and regional courts). The highest court is the Somaliland Supreme Court, which deals with issues between courts and in government, and reviews its own decisions. Supreme Court justices also constitute the Somaliland Constitutional Court, which deals with constitutional matters.[43]
Somaliland has three political parties: the United Peoples' Democratic Party, the Peace, Unity, and Development Party, and the Justice and Development Party. Under the Somaliland Constitution, a maximum of three political parties are allowed, and parties defined by religion or clan are prohibited, though all three parties are closely affiliated with a clan.[44]
Foreign relations[link]
Main article: Foreign relations of Somaliland
Somaliland has political contacts with its neighbours Ethiopia,[45][46] and Djibouti,[47] as well as with Belgium,[46] France,[48] Ghana,[46] Kenya,[49] South Africa,[46] Sweden,[46][50] and the United Kingdom.[46][51] On 17 January 2007, the European Union (EU) sent a delegation for foreign affairs to discuss future cooperation.[52] The African Union (AU) has also sent a foreign minister to discuss the future of international acknowledgment, and on January 29 and 30, 2007, the ministers stated that they would discuss acknowledgement with the organisation's member states[53] In June 2007, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi held a conference with Somaliland's President Kahin, during which he was referred to in an official communique by the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry as the President of Somaliland, the first time that Somaliland has been officially referred to as a sovereign state by a foreign government. While this is not claimed as a move to official recognition by Ethiopia, it is seen as a possible step toward a unilateral declaration by Ethiopia in the event of the AU failing to move its recognition of Somaliland forward.[46]
In early 2006, the National Assembly of Wales extended an official invitation to the Somaliland government to attend the royal opening of the Senedd in Cardiff. The move was seen as an act of recognition by the Welsh Assembly of the breakaway government's legitimacy. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office made no comment on the invitation. Wales is home to a significant Somaliland expatriate community.[54]
In 2007, a delegation led by President Kahin was present at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kampala, Uganda. Although Somaliland has applied to join the Commonwealth under observer status, its application is still pending.[55]
On November 27, 2007, Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck of the ELDR, one of three main parties in the EU, mailed a letter to the then-EU High Representative Javier Solana, and to President Kahin of Somaliland, which called upon the EU to recognise Somaliland.[56] In December 2007, the United States government discussed whether to back the shaky transitional government in Mogadishu or to acknowledge and support the less volatile Somaliland secessionists.[57]
On September 24, 2010 Johnnie Carson, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, stated that the United States would be modifying its strategy in Somalia and would seek deeper engagement with the governments of Somaliland and Puntland while continuing to support the Somali Transitional Government.[58] Carson said the US would send aid workers and diplomats to Puntland and Somaliland and alluded to the possibility of future development projects. However, Carson emphasized that the U.S. would not extend formal recognition to either region.[59] The current UK Minister for Africa, Henry Bellingham MP, met President Silanyo of Somaliland in November 2010 to discuss ways in which to increase the UK's engagement with Somaliland.[60] President Silanyo said during his visit to London: "We have been working with the international community and the international community has been engaging with us, giving us assistance and working with us in our democratisation and development programmes. And we are very happy with the way the international community has been dealing with us, particularly the UK, the US, other European nations and our neighbours who continue to seek recognition.”[61]
In 2011, Somaliland and the neighboring Puntland region each entered a security-related memorandum of understanding with the Seychelles. Following the framework of an earlier agreement signed between the Transitional Federal Government and the Seychelles, the memorandum is "for the transfer of convicted persons to prisons in “Puntland” and “Somaliland”".[62]
Border disputes[link]
Main article: Puntland–Somaliland dispute
Somaliland continues to claim the entire area of the former British Somaliland.[15] It is currently in control of the western half of the former British Somaliland, with northeastern Maakhir having declared itself a separate, unrecognised autonomous state within Somalia in July 2007, and the disputed southeastern Sool state had been under the control of neighbouring Puntland from 2003 until 2008.[63] A coalition of Gadabuursi intellectuals hailing from the westernmost Awdal province have threatened to secede if Somaliland's independence is recognised.[64][65]
Tensions between Puntland and Somaliland escalated into violence several times between 2002 and 2009. In October 2004, and again in April and October 2007, armed forces of Somaliland and Puntland clashed near the town of Las Anod, the capital of Sool region. In October 2007, Somaliland troops took control of the town.[66] While celebrating Puntland's 11th anniversary on 2 August 2009, Puntland officials vowed to recapture Las Anod. While Somaliland claims independent statehood and therefore 'split up' the 'old' Somalia, Puntland works for the re-establishment of a united but federal Somali state.[67]
Somaliland forces took control of the town of Las Qorey in eastern Sanaag on 10 July 2008, along with positions five kilometers east of the town. The defence forces completed their operations on 9 July 2008 after the Maakhir and Puntland militia in the area left their positions,[68] but control of the territory was later assumed by Puntland as Maakhir was incorporated into the autonomous region in January 2009.[69]
In the late 2000s, HBM-SSC (Hoggaanka Badbaadada iyo Mideynta SSC), a local unionist group based in Sanaag was formed with the goal to establish its own regional administration (Sool, Sanaag and Cayn, or SSC).[35]
In 2010, the formation of a new autonomous region within a federal Somalia was also declared in the Awdal province. Referred to as Awdalland or the Awdal State, the local administration does not recognise the Somaliland government's claim to sovereignty or to its territory.[70][71]
Military[link]
Main article: Military of Somaliland
The Somaliland Armed Forces are the main military command in Somaliland, and, along with the Police Force and all other internal security forces, are overseen by Somaliland's Ministry of Defence. The current head of Somaliland's Armed Forces is the Minister of Defence, Mudane Adan Mire Mohammed. The commanding of the military comes under a civilian post and not a military general.
The Somaliland Army consists of twelve divisions equipped primarily with light weaponry, though it is equipped with some howitzers and mobile rocket launchers. Its armored vehicles and tanks are mostly of Soviet design, though there are some aging Western vehicles and tanks in its arsenal. The Somaliland Navy has an arsenal of well-armed vessels and highly trained sailors, with the Berbera Marine College producing highly qualified naval officers who operate under International Maritime Bureau regulations.[72]
Administrative divisions[link]
Main article: Regions of Somaliland
| Key | Region | Capital | Area km2 |
Population density km2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salal | Zeila | n/a | n/a |
| 2 | Awdal | Borama | n/a | n/a |
| 3 | Gabiley | Gabiley | n/a | n/a |
| 4 | Gaaroodi | Salahley | n/a | n/a |
| 5 | Sahil | Berbera | n/a | n/a |
| 6 | Odweyne | Odweyne | n/a | n/a |
| 7 | Togdheer | Burao | n/a | n/a |
| 8 | Cayn | Buuhoodle | n/a | n/a |
| 9 | Sarar | Caynaba | n/a | n/a |
| 10 | Sool | Las Anod | n/a | n/a |
| 11 | Sanaag | Erigavo | n/a | n/a |
| 12 | Maakhir | Badhan | n/a | n/a |
| 13 | Hawd | Baligubadle | n/a | n/a |
| 14 | Maroodi Jeex | Hargeisa | n/a | n/a |
The main cities and towns in Somaliland:
- Hargeisa (Hargeysa), capital
- Boorama (Borama)
- Berbera
- Burco (Burao)
- Ceerigaabo (Erigabo)
- Dilla
- Las Anod (Laascaanood)
- Gabiley (Gabileh)
- Baligubadle
- Zeila (Saylac)
- Odweyne
- Yubbe
- Badhan
- Lasqoray
| State | Capital | Annexed |
|---|---|---|
| Gabiley | Gabiley | Maroodi Jeex |
| Maakhir | Badhan | Sanaag |
| Cayn | Buhoodle | Togdheer |
| Salal | Zeila | Awdal |
| Sarar | Caynaba | Sool |
| Odweyne | Odweyne | Togdheer |
| Hawd | Baligubadle | Maroodi Jeex |
16 new Districts:
| District | Region | Annexed Region |
|---|---|---|
| Haji Salax | Odweyne | Togdheer |
| Kalabaydh | Sool region | – |
| Wajale | Gabile | Hargeysa |
| Widh-widh | Buhoodle | Sool |
| Qorulugad | Buhoodle | Togdheer |
| Go’Da Weyne | Sahil | – |
| Harasheekh | Odweyne | Togdheer |
| Raydab Khatumo | Odweyne | Togdheer |
| Garba Dardar | Salal | Awdal |
| Boon | Sala | Awdal |
| Harirad | Salal | Awdal |
| Las Idle | Sahil | – |
| War Idad | Sarar | Togdheer |
| Yubbe | Sanaag | Maakhir |
| Elal | Sarar | Togdheer |
| War Imran | Togdheer | – |
| Magalo Ad | Awdal | – |
Geography[link]
Somaliland is situated in northwestern Somalia. It lies between the 08°00' – 11°30' parallel north of the equator and between 42°30' – 49°00' meridian east of Greenwich. It is bordered by Djibouti to the west, Ethiopia to the south, and the Puntland region of Somalia to the east. Somaliland has a 740 kilometres (460 mi) coastline with the majority lying along the Gulf of Aden. The region is slightly larger than England, with an area of 137,600 km2 (53,100 sq mi).
Somaliland's climate is a mixture of wet and dry conditions. The northern part of the region is hilly, and in many places the altitude ranges between 900 and 2,100 metres (2,953 and 6,890 ft) above sea level. The Awdal, Saaxil and Maroodi Jeex (Woqooyi Galbeed) regions are fertile and mountainous, while Togdheer is mostly semi-desert with little fertile greenery around. The Awdal region is also known for its offshore islands, coral reefs and mangroves.
A scrub-covered, semi-desert plain referred as the Guban lies parallel to the Gulf of Aden littoral. With a width of twelve kilometers in the west to as little as two kilometers in the east, the plain is bisected by watercourses that are essentially beds of dry sand except during the rainy seasons. When the rains arrive, the Guban's low bushes and grass clumps transform into lush vegetation.[73] This coastal strip is part of the Ethiopian xeric grasslands and shrublands ecoregion.
Cal Madow is a mountain range in the northern part of the country. Extending from the northwest of Erigavo to several kilometers west of the city of Bosaso, it features Somalia's highest peak, Shimbiris, which sits at an elevation of about 2,416 metres (7,927 ft).[3] The rugged east-west ranges of the Karkaar Mountains also lie to the interior of the Gulf of Aden littoral.[73] In the central regions, the northern mountain ranges give way to shallow plateaus and typically dry watercourses that are referred to locally as the Ogo. The Ogo's western plateau, in turn, gradually merges into the Haud, an important grazing area for livestock.[73]
Economy[link]
The Somaliland shilling, while stable, is not an internationally recognised currency and currently has no official exchange rate. It is regulated by the Bank of Somaliland, the central bank, which was established constitutionally in 1994.
Since Somaliland is unrecognised, international aid donors have found it difficult to provide aid. As a result, the government relies mainly upon tax receipts and remittances from the large Somali diaspora contribute immensely to Somaliland's economy.[74] Remittances come to Somaliland through money transfer companies, the largest of which is Dahabshiil,[75] one of the few Somali money transfer companies to conform to modern money-transfer regulations. The World Bank estimates that remittances worth approximately $US 1 billion reach Somalia annually from emigres working in the United States, Europe, and the Gulf states. Analysts say that Dahabshiil may handle around two-thirds of that figure, and that as much as half of it reaches Somaliland alone.[76]
Since the late 1990s, service provision has significantly improved as a result of limited government provision and contributions from non-governmental organisations, religious groups, the international community (especially the Diaspora) and the growing private sector. Local and municipal governments have been developing the provision of key public services, such as water in Hargeisa and education, electricity and security in Berbera.[74] In 2009, the Banque pour le Commerce et l'Industrie – Mer Rouge, based in Djibouti, opened a branch in Hargeisa, to become the first bank in the country since the collapse in 1990 of the Commercial and Savings Bank of Somalia.
Various telecommunications firms also have branches in Somaliland. Among these is Golis Telecom Somalia, one of the largest such operators in northern Somalia. Founded in 2002 with the objective of supplying the local market with GSM mobile services, fixed line and internet services, it has an extensive network that covers all of Somalia's major cities and more than 40 districts in both the Somaliland and Puntland regions.[77] Golis also offers among the cheapest international calling rates, at $0.2 USD less than its nearest competitor.[78] Other telecommunication firms serving the region include Telcom and NationLink.
Agriculture is generally considered to be a potentially successful industry, especially in the production of cereals and horticulture. Mining also has potential, though simple quarrying represents the extent of current operations despite the presence of hugely diverse quantities of mineral deposits.[2]
Tourism[link]
Main article: Tourism in Somaliland
Somaliland has a budding tourist industry and is home to what is often considered to be one of the most interesting attractions in the Horn of Africa, the Laas Gaal cave paintings. Currently, a small number of tourists travel to the region to see this sight. The paintings are situated near Hargeisa and were discovered by a French archaeological team in 2002. The government and locals keep the cave paintings safe, and only a restricted number of tourists are allowed entry. Other notable sights include the Freedom Arch in Hargeisa and the war memorial in the city centre. Natural attractions are very common around the region. The Naasa Hablood are twin hills located on the outskirts of Hargeisa that Somalis in the region consider to be a majestic natural landmark.
The Ministry of Tourism has also encouraged travellers to visit historic towns and cities in Somaliland. The historic town of Sheekh is located near Berbera and is home to old British colonial buildings that have remained untouched for over forty years. Berbera also houses historic and impressive Ottoman architectural buildings. Another equally famous historic city is Zeila. Zeila was once part of the Ottoman Empire, a dependency of Yemen and Egypt and a major trade city during the 19th century. The city has been visited for its old colonial landmarks, offshore mangroves and coral reefs, and its towering cliffs and beach. The nomadic culture of Somaliland has also attracted tourists. Most nomads live in the countryside.
Transport[link]
Bus services operate in Hargeisa, Burao, Gabiley, Berbera and Borama. There are also services between the major towns and adjacent villages operated by different types of vehicles such as 4 wheel drives and light goods vehicles (LGV). The most prominent airline in Somaliland is Daallo Airlines, due to the demise of Somali Airlines following the Somalian civil war. It flies to Djibouti, Dubai, Jeddah, and Addis Ababa, as well as operating flights for Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages.
Demographics[link]
Languages[link]
Main article: Languages of Somaliland
Most people in Somaliland speak two of the three official languages: Somali, Arabic and English. Article 6 of the Constitution of 2001 designates the official language of Somaliland to be Somali,[15] though Arabic is a mandatory subject in school and is used in mosques around the region and English is spoken and taught in schools. English was proclaimed an official language later, outside the constitution.[79]
Somali is a member of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family, and its nearest relatives are the Afar and Oromo languages. Somali is the best documented of the Cushitic languages,[80] with academic studies of it dating from before 1900.
Somali dialects are divided into three main groups: Northern, Benaadir and Maay. Northern Somali (or Northern-Central Somali) forms the basis for Standard Somali. Benaadir (also known as Coastal Somali) is spoken on the Benadir coast from Cadaley to south of Merca, including Mogadishu, as well as in the immediate hinterland. The coastal dialects have additional phonemes which do not exist in Standard Somali. Maay is principally spoken by the Digil and Mirifle (Rahanweyn) clans in the southern areas of Somalia.
Since Somali had long lost its ancient script,[81] a number of writing systems have been used over the years for transcribing the language. Of these, the Somali alphabet is the most widely used, and has been the official writing script in Somalia since the government of former President of Somalia Siad Barre formally introduced it in October 1972.[82]
The script was developed by the Somali linguist Shire Jama Ahmed specifically for the Somali language, and uses all letters of the English Latin alphabet except p, v and z. Besides Ahmed's Latin script, other orthographies that have been used for centuries for writing Somali include the long-established Arabic script and Wadaad's writing, in addition to various indigenous writing systems developed in the twentieth century.[83]
Religion[link]
See also: Islam in Somaliland
With few exceptions, Somalilanders are entirely Muslims,[84][85] the majority belonging to the Sunni branch of Islam and the Shafi'i school of Islamic jurisprudence.[86] As with southern Somali coastal towns such as Mogadishu and Merca, there is also a presence of Sufism, Islam's mystical dimension; particularly the Arab Rifa'iya tariiqa.[87] Though traces of pre-Islamic traditional religion exist in Somaliland, Islam is important to the Somali sense of national identity. Many of the Somali social norms come from their religion. For example, Somali women wear a hijab when they are in public. In addition, Somalis abstain from pork and alcohol, and also try to avoid receiving or paying any form of interest (usury). Muslims generally congregate on Friday afternoons for a sermon and group prayer.
Under the Constitution of Somaliland, Islam is the state religion of Somaliland, and no laws may violate the principles of Sharia. The promotion of any religion other than Islam is illegal, and the state promotes Islamic tenets and discourages behavior contrary to Islamic morals.[88]
Somaliland has very few Christians, and most have come from the schools and orphanages of the Roman Catholic missions of Aden, Djibouti, and of Berbera;[89] the closest current diocese of any denomination is the Roman Catholic Diocese of Djibouti, to the north of Somaliland. No organized church operates in the territory. The Holy See does not recognize Somaliland as a sovereign state.
The colonial period saw some Roman Catholic missionary activity in Somaliland. British Somaliland was under the care of the Vicariate Apostolic of Arabia, as also the Vicariate Apostolic of the Gallas (including French Somaliland and the main territory of Ethiopia), confided to the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. Italian Somaliland was detached in 1904 from the Vicariate Apostolic of Zanzibar, erected into the Prefecture Apostolic of Benadir, and confided to the ancient Order of the Holy Trinity or Trinitarians.
Culture[link]
Main article: Culture of Somaliland
Clan system[link]
The Somaliland region has a population of about 3.5 million people. Most local residents belong to the Somali ethnicity, Somalia's largest demographic group.
The clan groupings of the Somali people are important social units, and clan membership plays a central part in Somali culture and politics. Clans are patrilineal and are often divided into sub-clans, sometimes with many sub-divisions.
Somali society is traditionally ethnically endogamous. So to extend ties of alliance, marriage is often to another ethnic Somali from a different clan. Thus, for example, a recent study observed that in 89 marriages contracted by men of the Dhulbahante clan, 55 (62%) were with women of Dhulbahante sub-clans other than those of their husbands; 30 (33.7%) were with women of surrounding clans of other clan families (Isaaq, 28; Hawiye, 3); and 3 (4.3%) were with women of other clans of the Darod clan family (Majerteen 2, Ogaden 1).[90]
The Isaaq constitute the largest Somali clan in most of Somaliland and are concentrated in the Woqooyi Galbeed and Togdheer regions. The disputed eastern and western regions are predominantly inhabited by other clans. Sool's residents mainly hail from the Dhulbahante, a subdivision of the Harti confederation of Darod sub-clans.[91] The Warsangali, another Harti Darod sub-clan, constitute the majority of people in Sanaag.[91] The Gadabuursi are also well-represented in the Awdal region.[92]
Cuisine[link]
It is considered polite for one to leave a little bit of food on one's plate after finishing a meal at another's home. This tells the host that one has been given enough food. If one were to clean his or her plate that would indicate that one is still hungry. Most Somalis don't take this rule so seriously, but it is certainly not impolite to leave a few bits of food on one's plate. Traditionally, the main meal of the day is eaten at lunchtime and Somali people usually begin their day with a flatbread called laxoox (or lahoh), as well as liver, toast, cereal or porridge made of millet or cornmeal. Lunch can be a mixture of rice or pasta with meat and sauce. Also consumed during lunchtime is a traditional soup referred to as maraq, which is also part of Yemeni cuisine. Maraq is made of vegetables, meat and beans and is usually eaten with flatbread or pita bread. Later in the day, a lighter meal is served that includes beans, ful medames, muffo (patties made of oats or corn), hummus, or a salad with more laxoox/injera. Turkish coffee and Turkish tea are also imbibed. The latter beverage has been adapted to form what is one of the most famous drinks in the region: Shaax Xawaash. Consumed by the majority of Somalis, Shaah Xawaash is made of cardamom (or Xawaash) and cinnamon barks (Qoronfil).
Arts[link]
Islam and poetry have been described as the twin pillars of Somali culture. Somali poetry is mainly oral, with both male and female poets. They use things that are common in Somalia as metaphors. Most Somalis are Sunni Muslims and Islam is vitally important to the Somali sense of national identity. Most Somalis do not belong to a specific mosque or sect and can pray in any mosque they find.
Celebrations come in the form of religious festivities, two of the most important being Eid ul-Adha and Eid ul-Fitr, which marks the end of the fasting month. Families get dressed up to visit one another, and money is donated to the poor. Other holidays include 26 June and 18 May, which celebrate Somaliland's independence from Britain and Somalia respectively; the latter, however, is not recognised by the international community.
In a nomadic culture, where one's possessions are frequently moved, there is little reason for the plastic arts to be highly developed. Somalis embellish and decorate their woven and wooden milk jugs (haano; the most decorative jugs are made in Ceerigaabo) and wooden headrests. Traditional dance is also important, though mainly as a form of courtship among young people. The traditional dance known as the Ceeyar Somaali in the Somali language is Somaliland's favourite dance.
Also, an important form of art in Somaliland is henna painting (mehndi, Somali: Xenna). The henna plant is widely grown across the region and it was Arab merchants and settlers that first brought the art of henna painting to early Somaliland. During special occasions, a Somali woman's hands and feet are expected to be covered in decorative mendhi. Girls and women usually apply or decorate their hands and feet in henna on joyous celebrations like Eid or weddings. The henna designs vary from very simple to highly intricate. Compared to Pakistani, Indian or Bangladeshi henna designs, Arab designs are more modern and simple. Traditionally, only women apply this body art, as it is considered a feminine custom.
Henna is not only applied on the hands and feet but is also used as a dye. Somali men and women alike use henna as a dye to change their hair colour. Mostly, elderly men with grey hair apply this procedure because black hair dye is forbidden in Islam. Women are free to apply henna on their hair as most of the time they are wearing a hijab.
See also[link]
- Outline of Somaliland
- Communications in Somaliland
- Public holidays in Somaliland
- Banknotes of the Somaliland shilling
- Coins of the Somaliland shilling
- List of states with limited recognition
- LGBT rights in Somaliland
References[link]
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- ^ a b "Somalia". World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 2009-05-14. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/so.html. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
- ^ Paul Dickson, Labels for locals: what to call people from Abilene to Zimbabwe, (Merriam-Webster: 1997), p.175.
- ^ a b c d e Lacey, Marc (2006-06-05). "The Signs Say Somaliland, but the World Says Somalia". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/05/world/africa/05somaliland.html. Retrieved 2010-02-02.
- ^ The UK Prime Minister's Office Reply To The "Somaliland E-Petition"
- ^ "Republic of Somaliland – Country Profile". Somaliland Mission. http://www.somalilandgov.com/cprofile.htm. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
- ^ "The Transitional Federal Charter of the Somali Republic". University of Pretoria. 2004-02-01. http://www.chr.up.ac.za/hr_docs/countries/docs/charterfeb04.pdf. Retrieved 2010-02-02. "The Somali Republic shall have the following boundaries. (a) North; Gulf of Aden. (b) North West; Djibouti. (c) West; Ethiopia. (d) South south-west; Kenya. (e) East; Indian Ocean."
- ^ a b "Somaliland Marks Independence After 73 Years of British Rule" (fee required). The New York Times. 1960-06-26. p. 6. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00A10FB395A1A7A93C4AB178DD85F448685F9. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
- ^ a b "How Britain said farewell to its Empire". BBC News. 2010-07-23. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-10740852.
- ^ a b Encyclopaedia Britannica, The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, (Encyclopaedia Britannica: 2002), p.835
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- ^ a b c "The Constitution of the Republic of Somaliland". Government of Somaliland. 2001-05-01. http://www.chr.up.ac.za/undp/domestic/docs/c_Somaliland.pdf. Retrieved 2010-02-02.
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- ^ Schoiswohl, Michael (2004). Status and (Human Rights) Obligations of Non-Recognized De Facto Regimes in International Law. University of Michigan: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. p. 351. ISBN 978-90-04-13655-7. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=GOSbAAAAMAAJ&q=Status+and+(Human+Rights)+Obligations+of+Non-Recognized+De+Facto+Regimes+in+International+Law&dq=Status+and+(Human+Rights)+Obligations+of+Non-Recognized+De+Facto+Regimes+in+International+Law&cd=1.
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- ^ Breasted, James Henry. "The Land of Punt". , Ph.D., Ancient Records of Egypt, Historical Documents, Vol. II, 1906:. Ancient African History: The Land of Punt. http://wysinger.homestead.com/punt.html. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
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- ^ Samatar p. 31
- ^ Samatar, p. 32
- ^ Samatar, Unhappy masses and the challenge of political Islam in the Horn of Africa, Somalia Online [1] retrieved 10-03-27
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- ^ a b c Somaliland’s Quest for International Recognition and the HBM-SSC Factor
- ^ [3]
- ^ Lewis, A Modern History, pp. 282–286
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- ^ Gettleman, Jeffrey (2007-03-07). "Somaliland is an overlooked African success story". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/07/world/africa/07iht-somalia.4826198.html. Retrieved 2010-02-04.
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- ^ Somaliland Parliament
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- ^ "France recognizes de facto Somaliland". Les Nouvelles d'Addis. 2008-04-08. http://www.lesnouvelles.org/P10_magazine/15_grandentretien/15055_mahamudsalahnur_eng.html. Retrieved 2010-02-04.
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- ^ "AU supports Somali split". Mail and Guardian Online. 2006-02-10. http://www.mg.co.za/article/2006-02-10-au-supports-somali-split. Retrieved 2007-02-23.
- ^ Shipton, Martin (3 March 2006). "Wales strikes out on its own in its recognition of Somaliland". Wales Online. http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/welsh-politics/welsh-politics-news/tm_objectid=16766640&method=full&siteid=50082-name_page.html. Retrieved 2010-06-25.
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- ^ Worldstatesmen – Maakhir
- ^ Awdalland Deserves Recognition – New Song (Daawo)
- ^ The Declaration of Adal State
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- ^ a b c Hadden, Robert Lee. 2007. "The Geology of Somalia: A Selected Bibliography of Somalian Geology, Geography and Earth Science." Engineer Research and Development Laboratories, Topographic Engineering Center
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- ^
"Somaliland". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. - ^ Ioan M. Lewis, Blood and Bone: The Call of Kinship in Somali Society, (Red Sea Press: 1994), p.51
- ^ a b Royal African Society, African affairs, Volume 101, Issues 402-405, (Oxford University Press: 2002), p.103.
- ^ Samatar, Abdi I. (2001) "Somali Reconstruction and Local Initiative: Amoud University," Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies: Vol. 1, Article 9, p. 132.
Sources and references[link]
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Somaliland". Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company. CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Somaliland
- Wales Strikes Out On Its Own In Its Recognition of Somaliland
- Hoehne, Markus V. 2009: Mimesis and mimicry in dynamics of state and identity formation in northern Somalia, Africa 79/2, pp. 252–281.
- Hoehne, Markus V. 2007: Puntland and Somaliland clashing in northern Somalia: Who cuts the Gordian knot?, published online on 7 November 2007. http://hornofafrica.ssrc.org/Hoehne/
Bibliography[link]
- Bradbury, Mark, Becoming Somaliland (James Currey, 2008)
External links[link]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Somaliland |
- Somaliland official website
- Somaliland Net Somali and English language news website.
- Somaliland Today Arabic language news website.
- Somaliland Press English language news website.
- Somaliland.Org news website (primarily Somali language; some English)
- Somaliland Times English language news website.
- Somaliland BBC Country Profile
- Update on the Situation in the Somaliland
- United Kingdom parliamentary debate on recognition of Somaliland, February 4, 2004 led by Tony Worthington
- Somaliland recognition finds enhanced support
- Somaliland strives to stand out in troubled region, May 17, 2009 LA Times
- To beat piracy on the high seas, UN and India should recognise Somaliland June 30, 2010 Daily Telegraph
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