Camels on sale at Baidoa livestock market in Somalia on November 7, 2019
Flag of Somalia
Coat of arms of Somalia
Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, the Gulf of Aden to the north, the Indian Ocean to the east, and Kenya to the southwest. Somalia has the longest coastline on the mainland of Africa, with a seaboard that stretches 3,025 kilometres (1,880 mi).
In antiquity, Somalia was an important centre for commerce with the rest of the ancient world, it is among the most probable locations of the fabled ancient Land of Punt. During the Middle Ages, several powerful Somali empires dominated the regional trade, including the Ajuuraan Sultanate, the Adal Sultanate and the Geledi Sultanate. In the late nineteenth century, through a succession of treaties with these kingdoms, the British and Italians gained control of parts of the coast, and established British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland. In the interior, the Dervish State wherein Muhammad Abdullah Hassan was leader successfully repulsed the British Empire four times and forced it to retreat to the coastal region. Italian occupation lasted until 1941, yielding to British military administration. British Somaliland would remain a protectorate, while Italian Somaliland in 1949 became a United Nations Trusteeship under Italian administration, the Trust Territory of Somaliland.
Though, in 1960, the two regions united to form the independent Somali Republic under a civilian government. In 1991, following the collapse of the government of Siad Barre, the Republic of Somaliland unilaterally declared its independence from Somalia, reinstating the borders of former British Somaliland, and has been governed by democratically elected leaders since. Somaliland's independence, however, has not been recognised by any foreign country or international organisation.
Somalia has a population of around 10 million. About 85% of local residents are ethnic Somalis, Somali and Arabic are the official languages of Somalia, both of which belong to the Afro-Asiatic family. Most people in the territory are Muslims, the majority being Sunni.
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Somalia sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. The country's participation at Beijing marked its seventh in the Summer Olympics since its debut in 1972 Games. The delegation included two track and field athletes: sprinter Samiya Yuusf Omar and long-distance runner Abdinasir Said Ibrahim. Neither athlete progressed past the first round of their respective competitions. Omar's story, having trained in Mogadishu during the Somali Civil War, was covered by the media at the time, and later featured in a graphic novel following her death. (Full article...)
Image 10The battle flag of Al-Shabaab, an Islamist group waging war against the federal government. (from History of Somalia)
Image 11Wa'daan warriors ambushed and killed the Italian explorer Antonio Cecchi and most of his troops at Lafoole, west of Mogadishu, 1896 (from History of Somalia)
Image 12Downtown Mogadishu in 1936. Arch of Triumph Umberto to the left, Cathedral and Arba Rucun mosque to the centre-right. (from History of Somalia)
Image 48Map of Italian Somaliland in 1940, when was added the British Somaliland (after the previous addition of the Ogaden in 1936) (from History of Somalia)
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