Somalia

Somalia is a country 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 African mainland. Its terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains and highlands. Hot conditions prevail all year round with periodic monsoon winds and irregular rainfall. The population of Somalia is estimated to be about 15 million, of which more than 2 million live in the capital and largest city of Mogadishu. Somalia is considered the most culturally homogeneous country in Africa. About 85% of its inhabitants are ethnic Somalis who historically inhabited the north of the country. Ethnic minorities are mainly concentrated in the south. The official languages ​​of Somalia are Somali and Arabic. Most of the people in the country are Muslims, most of them are Sunnis. In ancient times, Somalia was an important trading center. This is one of the most likely sites of the legendary ancient country of Punt. During the Middle Ages, regional trade was dominated by several powerful Somali empires, including the Sultanate of Ajuran, the Sultanate of Adal, and the Sultanate of Geledi. In the late 19th century, Somali sultanates such as the Isaac Sultanate and the Majirtin Sultanate were colonized by Italy, Britain, and Ethiopia. European colonists united the tribal territories into two colonies, which were the Italian Somaliland and the British protectorate of Somaliland. Domestically, meanwhile, dervishes led by Mohammed Abdullah Hassan engaged in two years of confrontation with Abyssinia, Italian Somaliland and British Somaliland and were ultimately defeated in the 1920 Somaliland campaign. Italy gained full control of the northeastern, central and southern parts of the region after successfully waging a campaign of the sultanates against the ruling sultanate of Majertin and the sultanate of Hobio. In 1960, the two territories merged into the independent Somali Republic under a civilian government. The Supreme Revolutionary Council seized power in 1969 and created the Somali Democratic Republic in a brutal attempt to suppress the Somaliland War of Independence in the north of the country. The SRC subsequently broke up 22 years later, in 1991, with the outbreak of the Somali Civil War, and Somaliland soon declared independence. During this period, most regions returned to customary and religious law. In the early 2000s, a number of temporary federal administrations were created. The Transitional National Government (TNG) was created in 2000, followed by the formation of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in 2004, which rebuilt the Somali Armed Forces. In 2006, thanks to US-backed Ethiopian intervention, the TFG took control of much of the country's southern conflict zones from the newly formed Islamic Courts Union (ICU). The ICU subsequently split into more radical groups such as Al-Shabaab, which fought the TFG and its AMISOM allies for control of the region. By mid-2012, the rebels had lost most of the territory they had conquered, and the search for more permanent democratic institutions began. In August 2012, a new interim constitution was adopted reforming Somalia as a federation. In the same month, the federal government of Somalia was formed and a period of reconstruction began in Mogadishu. Somalia supports the informal economy, mainly through livestock farming, remittances from Somalis working abroad, and telecommunications. He is a member of the United Nations, the League of Arab States, the African Union, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.