Portal:Somalia

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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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Operation Provide Relief was a United States spearheaded humanitarian relief airlift that ran from August to December 1992 in response to the famine in Somalia. This effort was assisted by the United Nations Operation in Somalia I (UNOSOM I) mission, in light of a severe food crisis initiated and exacerbated by ongoing factional fighting. However, there were significant obstructions to delivering relief aid due to the security situation. This prompted the UN to pass Resolution 794, which paved the way for the more robust, multinational Unified Task Force operation in December 1992. (Full article...)

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The former embassy compound in 1992, shortly after it was assigned as the headquarters for US personnel within UNITAF.

The Embassy of the United States of America to Somalia is a diplomatic mission of the United States in Mogadishu, Somalia from 1960 to 1991. In 1957, the US opened a consulate-general in Mogadishu—the capital of the Trust Territory of Somalia, a UN trusteeship under Italian administration. The consulate was upgraded to embassy status in July 1960, when the US recognized Somalia's independence and appointed an ambassador. The embassy served to counter Soviet influence during the Cold War and also served as a base for the United States Agency for International Development, which had a large presence in the country. In 1989, the embassy moved from a dilapidated building in central Mogadishu to a new compound on the outskirts of the city.

Violence quickly enveloped the city in late December 1990, during the Somali Civil War, and on 1 January 1991, the ambassador contacted the State Department to request the closure and evacuation of the embassy. Approval was given the following day, but violence and the collapse of the central government prevented the US, and several other countries, from airlifting their diplomats and civilians through Mogadishu International Airport. USS Guam and USS Trenton, which were stationed off the coast of Oman, were dispatched to airlift staff from the embassy; American civilians and many foreign diplomats also gathered at the embassy, seeking evacuation. The embassy closed on January 5, 1991, and 281 American and foreign diplomats and civilians were airlifted by helicopter from the embassy compound to Guam and Trenton. (Full article...)

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Mogadishu Battle of Jilib Operation Eastern Exit Cyclone Sagar Somalia at the 2000 Summer Olympics Somalia at the 2008 Summer Olympics Somalia at the 2012 Summer Olympics Somalia at the 2016 Summer Olympics Somalia at the 2016 Summer Paralympics

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...that the Fakr ad-Din mosque is the oldest Islamic building in the Horn of Africa?

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Image 1A Dhulbahante garesa (dervish fort) in Taleh
Image 2The beachside at Merca, an ancient port city in the southern Lower Shebelle province of Somalia
Image 3A satellite image of Somalia, 2004
Image 4Lamadaya are waterfalls located in the Cal Madow mountain range in the northern Sanaag region of Somalia
Image 5A view of the Port of Mogadishu
Image 6A view of Bosaso
Image 7The Jubba river near Jamaame
Image 8Mashmash, a Somali pancake and part of Somali cuisine
Image 9A view of Banderadley Somalia
Image 10A camel peering over the leafier portions of Cal Madow, a mountain range in Somalia
Image 11A man carries a huge hammerhead shark through the streets of Mogadishu
Image 12A view in the Kismayo/Dalxiiska area in 2016
Image 13Hargeisa and much of northwestern Somalia is desert or hilly terrain. Here, the thelarchic-shaped Naasa Hablood hills are shown.

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See Wiki Loves Africa in Somalia at Wikimedia Commons for more Somalia images.

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The following are images from various Somalia-related articles on Wik.ipedia.Pro.

Image 1Downtown Mogadishu in 1936. Arch of Triumph Umberto to the left, Cathedral and Arba Rucun mosque to the centre-right. (from History of Somalia)
Image 2The Guardafui Channel, between the tip of Somalia and Socotra island. (from Geography of Somalia)
Image 3An avenue in downtown Mogadishu in 1963. (from History of Somalia)
Image 4Somali women performing a traditional dance (from Culture of Somalia)
Image 5Somali woman in Hargeisa opening speech with traditional greeting. (from Culture of Somalia)
Image 6Neolithic rock art at the Laas Geel complex depicting a camel. (from History of Somalia)
Image 7Mosque of Islamic Solidarity (from Culture of Somalia)
Image 8Somali women in traditional dirac and shash (from Culture of Somalia)
Image 9Somali language books on display. (from Culture of Somalia)
Image 10Embassy of Somalia in Paris (from History of Somalia)
Image 11Model of a medieval Mogadishan ship. (from History of Somalia)
Image 12Topography of Somalia (from Geography of Somalia)
Image 13Mogadiscio cathedral (from History of Somalia)
Image 1419th century Martello fort in Berbera constructed by Haji Sharmarke Ali Saleh (from History of Somalia)
Image 15The battle flag of Al-Shabaab, an Islamist group waging war against the federal government. (from History of Somalia)
Image 16Taleh was the capital of the Dervish movement. (from History of Somalia)
Image 17Abdirahman Ahmed Ali Tuur Chairman of the Somali National Movement that overthrew Barre's regime in Northern Somalia (from History of Somalia)
Image 18Mogadishan currency – The Sultanate of Mogadishu was an important monetary supporter of Adal. (from History of Somalia)
Image 19Somali women basket weaving (from Culture of Somalia)
Image 20Italian stamp from Mogadiscio (from History of Somalia)
Image 21Somalia map of Köppen climate classification. (from Geography of Somalia)
Image 22Major General Mohamed Siad Barre, Chairman of the Supreme Revolutionary Council. (from History of Somalia)
Image 23Governor's palace in Mogadiscio (from History of Somalia)
Image 24Wa'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 25A Somali woman showing a decorated pottery (from Culture of Somalia)
Image 26Fiat building in Mogadiscio, 1940 (from History of Somalia)
Image 27Somali men and women in front of a traditional house (from Culture of Somalia)
Image 28Somali woman building a Somali house (from Culture of Somalia)
Image 29Foreign Minister of Somalia Mohamed Abdullahi Omaar in a meeting with UNDP Administrator Helen Clark and other diplomats at the UN headquarters in New York. (from History of Somalia)
Image 30Exhumed skeletal remains of victims of the Isaaq genocide (from History of Somalia)
Image 31AMISOM reinforcement convoy on the Baidoa-Mogadishu road in April 2014 (from History of Somalia)
Image 32Dervish commander Haji Sudi on the left with his brother in-law Duale Idres. Aden, 1892. (from History of Somalia)
Image 33Engraving of the 13th century Fakr ad-Din Mosque built by Fakr ad-Din, the first Sultan of the Sultanate of Mogadishu. (from History of Somalia)
Image 34Merca is an ancient Islamic center in Somalia. (from Culture of Somalia)
Image 35A traditional dabqaad incense burner. (from Culture of Somalia)
Image 36The Osmanya writing script. (from Culture of Somalia)
Image 37Barawa city was an important medieval centre of Somali enterprise. (from History of Somalia)
Image 38Bimaal clan elders and the Bimal Sultan on board Marco Polo discussing matters with Italian figures (from History of Somalia)
Image 39Flag of the Somali Youth League (SYL), the nation's first political party. (from History of Somalia)
Image 40Dulbiciid in Godaalo, Xudun District, tallest Somalia mountain outside karkaar range (from Geography of Somalia)
Image 41Map of Italian Somaliland in 1940, when was added the British Somaliland (after the previous addition of the Ogaden in 1936) (from History of Somalia)
Image 42Ruins of the Sultanate of Adal in Zeila, Somalia. (from History of Somalia)
Image 43The Silk Road extending from southern Europe through Arabia, Somalia, Egypt, Persia, India and Java until it reaches China. (from History of Somalia)
Image 44Former leader of the Somali Youth League Aden Abdullah Osman Daar who eventually became the first President of the Somali Republic following the union of State of Somaliland and Italian Trusteeship of Somalia. (from Culture of Somalia)
Image 45US Army helicopter shortly before Battle of Mogadishu in 1993. (from History of Somalia)
Image 46Italian Somalia (from History of Somalia)
Image 47Somalis performing the folk dance called Dhaanto (from Culture of Somalia)
Image 48Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, leader of the Dervish movement. (from History of Somalia)
Image 49Somali singer Fartuun Birimo wearing henna hand and arm designs. (from Culture of Somalia)
Image 50Almnara Tower, Mogadishu. (from History of Somalia)
Image 51Somali Army soldiers during the operation Operation Indian Ocean, October 2014 (from History of Somalia)
Image 52Cinema Italia in Mogadiscio, 1937 (from History of Somalia)
Image 53Mosque in Borama, Somaliland (from Culture of Somalia)
Image 54In 1698, the Portuguese in Mombasa surrendered to a joint Somali-Ottoman force. (from History of Somalia)
Image 55Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi's pioneering use of cannons figured prominently in his Conquest of Ethiopian territories. (from History of Somalia)
Image 56Sheikh Ali Ayanle Samatar, a prominent Somali Islamic scholar. (from Culture of Somalia)

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