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Somalia is a nation located on the Horn of Africa with a lengthy coast along the Indian Ocean. Somalia shares land borders with Djibouti, Kenya, and Ethiopia, and is directly across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen.
Somalia has been without an effective central government since 1991, when former president Siad Barre was overthrown. A transitional government was established in 2004. It has struggled for power with Islamic militants in Somalia. The leader of the transitional government, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, resigned on December 29, 2008.USA Today: Somalia's president resigns after 4 years in power (December 29, 2008)
- Capital: Mogadishu
- Population: Estimation: 9,558,666CIA World Factbook: Somalia
- Currency: Somali Shilling
- Official Language: Somali
- Without an effective central government since 1991BBC News: Country Profile: Somalia
- President Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991BBC News: Country Profile: Somalia
- The transitional government of Somalia was established in 2004BBC News: Country Profile: Somalia
- It has struggled for power with Islamic militants since thenBBC News: Country Profile: Somalia
- Its president, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, resigned on December 29, 2008USA Today: Somalia's president resigns after 4 years in power (December 29, 2008)
- The parliament will hold an election for a new president within 30 daysUSA Today: Somalia's president resigns after 4 years in power (December 29, 2008)
Brief History and Background
The independent Somali Republic was formed from the union of Italian Somaliland and British Somaliliand in 1960. Until 1991, Somalia had a series of non-democratic governments and rulers, and in 1977 went to war with Ethiopia in an attempt to wrest away lands claimed to be ethnically Somali. Beginning in 1991, Somalia ceased to have an effective central government, and in 1992 a United States-led mission, Operation Restore Hope, sought to alleviate a growing famine in the area. In 2006, after Mogadishu warlords attempted to institute Sharia law in areas under their control, Ethiopian defense forces invaded and deposed the ruling warlords.Climate and Terrain
Somalia's most distinguishing feature is its lengthy coastline on the Indian Ocean. The enormous 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake triggered a massive tsunami which hit the Somali coast seven hours after the event, killing an estimated 289 people.Categories
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Somalia on Amazon
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Somalia, 1980 - $14.95
Experience the American Journey through our country's visual heritage in this historical recording provided by the National Archives of the United States.From the Agency for International Development.This historical recording from the Natio...
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UN Peacekeeping in Lebanon, Somalia and Kosovo: Operational and Legal Issues in Practice - $50.00
The concept of UN peacekeeping has had to evolve and change to meet the challenges of contemporary sources of conflict. From a practical, operational and legal perspective, Murphy examines the problems faced by UN peacekeeping operations. T...
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Somalia between Jihad and Restoration - $39.95
Dramatic events in Somalia between June and December 2006 included the rise and fall of a radical Islamic movement, the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), which attracted global attention to the strategic area of the Horn of Africa. In this volume...
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Understanding Somalia and Somaliland: Culture, History, Society (Columbia/Hurst) - $45.00
Ioan Lewis details the history and culture of the Somali people, providing a unique window into this little-known culture and its increasingly public predicaments. He provides insight into the complex social, historical, and cultural hinter...
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