SOMALILAND 1949 KGVI UPU MINT BLOCK STAMPS Sc 112. SG 121 SHEET #00280 MINT MNH

Description: SOMALILAND PROTECTORATE 1949 KGVI UNIVERSAL POSTAL UNION UPU CORNER BLOCK STAMPS Sc 112 SG 121 SHEET #00280 MINT NEVER HINGED MNH SOMALIASomalia,[b] officially the Federal Republic of Somalia[10] (Somali: Jamhuuriyadda Federaalka Soomaaliya; Arabic: جمهورية الصومال الفيدرالية), is a country in the Horn of Africa. The country is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti[11] to the northwest, the Gulf of Aden to the north, the Indian Ocean to the east, and Kenya to the southwest. Somalia has thelongest coastline on Africa's mainland.[12] Its terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains, andhighlands.[1] Hot conditions prevail year-round, with periodic monsoonwinds and irregular rainfall.[13] Somalia has an estimated population of around 17.1million,[14][15] of which over 2 million live in the capital and largest city Mogadishu, and has been described as Africa's most culturally homogeneouscountry.[16][17] Around 85% of its residents are ethnic Somalis,[1] who have historically inhabited the country's north.Ethnic minorities are largely concentrated in the south.[18] The official languages of Somalia are Somali and Arabic.[1] Most people in the country are Muslims,[19] the majority of them Sunni.[20]In antiquity, Somalia was an important commercial center.[21][22] It is among the most probable locations of theancient Land of Punt.[23][24][25] During the Middle Ages, several powerful Somali empiresdominated the regional trade, including the Imamate of Awsame, Ajuran Sultanate, the Adal Sultanate, and the Sultanate of theGeledi.In the late 19th century, Somali Sultanates like the Isaaq Sultanate,[26] Habr Yunis Sultanate and the Majeerteen Sultanate were colonized by both the Italian and British Empires.[27][28][29] European colonists merged the tribal territories intotwo colonies, which were Italian Somaliland and the British SomalilandProtectorate.[30][31] Meanwhile, in the interior, the Dervishes led by Mohammed AbdullahHassan engaged in atwo-decade confrontation against Abyssinia, Italian Somaliland, and BritishSomaliland and were finally defeated in the 1920 SomalilandCampaign.[32][33][34] Italy acquired full control of the northeastern, central,and southern parts of the area after successfully waging the Campaign of theSultanates against theruling Majeerteen Sultanate and Sultanate of Hobyo.[31] In 1960, the two territories united to form theindependent Somali Republic under a civilian government.[35]Siad Barre of the Supreme RevolutionaryCouncil (SRC) seizedpower in 1969 and established the Somali DemocraticRepublic, brutally attemptingto squash the Somaliland War ofIndependence in the north ofthe country.[36] The SRC collapsed in 1991 with the onset of the Somali Civil War.[37]Since the onset of the civil war, which involves various warringgroups, most regions of Somalia have returned to customary and religious law. In the early 2000s, a number of interim federaladministrations were created. The Transitional National Government (TNG) was established in 2000, followedby the formation of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in 2004, which reestablishedthe Somali Armed Forces.[1][38]In 2006, with a US-backed Ethiopianintervention, the TFG assumedcontrol of most of the nation's southern conflict zones from the newlyformed Islamic Courts Union (ICU). The ICU subsequently splinteredinto more radical groups, including the jihadist group al-Shabaab, which battled the TFG and its AMISOM allies for control of the region.[1] By mid-2012, the insurgents had lost most of the territorythey had seized, and a search for more permanent democratic institutions began.[39] Despite this, insurgents still control much of central andsouthern Somalia,[40][41] and wield influence in government-controlled areas,[41] with the town of Jilib acting as the insurgents' de factocapital.[40][42] A new provisional constitution was passed in August 2012,[43][44] reforming Somalia as a federation.[45] The same month, the Federal Government ofSomalia was formed[46] and a period of reconstruction began in Mogadishu, despite al-Shabaab frequently carrying out attacks there.[39][47]Somalia's GDPper capita is one of theworld's lowest, and it belongs to the least developedcountry group.[48] In 2019, Somalia had the lowest HDI in the world, and in the same year, 69%of Somalia's population was living below the poverty line.[49] As of 2023, Somalia is placed the highest in the FragileStates Index.[50] It has maintained an informal economy mainly based on livestock, remittances from Somalis working abroad, and telecommunications.[51] It is a member of the United Nations,[52] the Arab League,[53] African Union,[54] Non-Aligned Movement,[55] East African Community,[56] and the Organisation ofIslamic Cooperation.[57]HistoryMain article: History of SomaliaPrehistorySomalia was likely one of the first lands to be settled by earlyhumans due to its location. Hunter-gatherers who would later migrate out of Africa likely settled herebefore their migrations.[58] During the Stone Age, the Doian and Hargeisan culturesflourished here.[59][60][61][58][62][63] The oldest evidence of burial customs in the Horn ofAfrica comes from cemeteries in Somalia dating back to the 4th millennium BCE.[64] The stone implements from the Jalelo site in the northwere also characterized in 1909 as important artifacts demonstrating thearchaeological universality during the Paleolithic between the East and theWest.[65]According to linguists, the first Afroasiatic-speaking populations arrived in the regionduring the ensuing Neolithic period from the family's proposed urheimat ("original homeland") inthe Nile Valley,[66] or the Near East.[67]The Laas Geel complex on the outskirts of Hargeisa in northwestern Somalia dates back approximately 5,000years, and has rock art depicting both wild animals anddecorated cows.[68] Other cave paintings are found in the northern Dhambalin region, which feature one of the earliest known depictionsof a hunter on horseback. The rock art is dated to 1,000 to 3,000 BCE.[69][70] Additionally, between the towns of Las Khorey and El Ayo in northern Somalia lies Karinhegane, the site of numerous cave paintings of both real and mythicalanimals. Each painting has an inscription below it, which collectively havebeen estimated to be around 2,500 years old.[71][72]Antiquity and classical eraMain articles: Somali Architecture and SeseaAncient pyramidical structures, mausoleums, ruined cities and stone walls, such as the Wargaade Wall, are evidence of an old civilization that once thrived in theSomali peninsula.[73][74] This civilization enjoyed a trading relationshipwith ancient Egypt and Mycenaean Greece since the second millennium BCE, supporting the hypothesisthat Somalia or adjacent regions were the location of the ancient Land of Punt.[73][75] The Puntites native to the region traded myrrh, spices, gold, ebony, short-horned cattle,ivory and frankincense with the Egyptians, Phoenicians,Babylonians, Indians, Chinese and Romans through their commercial ports. AnEgyptian expedition sent to Punt by the 18th dynasty Queen Hatshepsut is recorded on the temple reliefs at Deir el-Bahari, during the reign of the Puntite King Parahu and Queen Ati.[73] In 2015, isotopic analysis of ancient baboon mummies fromPunt that had been brought to Egypt as gifts indicated that the specimenslikely originated from an area encompassing eastern Somalia and theEritrea-Ethiopia corridor.[76]In the classical era, the Macrobians, who may have been ancestral to Somalis, established a powerfultribal kingdom that ruled large parts of modern Somalia. They were reputed fortheir longevity and wealth, and were said to be the "tallest andhandsomest of all men".[77] The Macrobians were warrior herders and seafarers.According to Herodotus' account, the Persian Emperor Cambyses II, upon his conquest of Egypt in 525 BC, sent ambassadors to Macrobia,bringing luxury gifts for the Macrobian king to entice his submission. TheMacrobian ruler, who was elected based on his stature and beauty, repliedinstead with a challenge for his Persian counterpart in the form of an unstrungbow: if the Persians could manage to draw it, they would have the right toinvade his country; but until then, they should thank the gods that theMacrobians never decided to invade their empire.[77][78] The Macrobians were a regional power reputed for theiradvanced architecture and gold wealth, which was so plentiful that they shackled theirprisoners in golden chains.[78] The camel is believed to have been domesticated in the Horn regionsometime between the 2nd and 3rd millennium BCE. From there, it spread to Egypt and the Maghreb.[79]During the classical period, the Barbara city-states also known as sesea of Mosylon, Opone, Mundus, Isis, Malao, Avalites, Essina, Nikon and Sarapion developed a lucrative trade network, connecting withmerchants from Ptolemaic Egypt, Ancient Greece, Phoenicia, Parthian Persia, Saba, the Nabataean Kingdom, and the Roman Empire. They used the ancient Somali maritime vesselknown as the beden to transport their cargo.After the Roman conquest of the Nabataean Empire and the Roman naval presence at Aden to curb piracy, Arab and Somalimerchants agreed with the Romans to bar Indian ships from trading in the freeport cities of the Arabian peninsula[80] to protect the interests of Somali and Arab merchants inthe lucrative commerce between the Red and Mediterranean Seas.[81] However, Indian merchants continued to trade in the portcities of the Somali peninsula, which was free from Roman interference.[82] For centuries, Indian merchants brought large quantitiesof cinnamon to Somalia and Arabia from Ceylon and the Spice Islands. The source of the cinnamon and other spices is said to havebeen the best-kept secret of Arab and Somali merchants in their trade with theRoman and Greek world; the Romans and Greeks believed the source to have beenthe Somali peninsula.[83] The collusive agreement among Somali and Arab tradersinflated the price of Indian and Chinese cinnamon in North Africa, the NearEast, and Europe, and made the cinnamon trade a very profitable revenuegenerator, especially for the Somali merchants through whose hands largequantities were shipped across sea and land routes.[81]Birth of Islam and the Middle AgesMain articles: Somali aristocraticand court titles, Ifat Sultanate, Walashma dynasty, Sultanate of Mogadishu, Adal Sultanate, and Ajuran SultanateIslam was introduced to the area early on bythe first Muslims of Mecca fleeing prosecution during the first Hejira with Masjid al-Qiblatayn in Zeila being built before the Qiblah towards Mecca. It is one of the oldest mosques in Africa.[84] In the late 9th century, Al-Yaqubi wrote that Muslims were living along the northern Somaliseaboard.[85] He also mentioned that the Adal Kingdom had its capital in the city.[85][86] According to Leo Africanus, the Adal Sultanate was governed by local Somali dynasties and its realm encompassed the geographical areabetween the Bab el Mandeb and Cape Guardafui. It was thus flanked to the southby the Ajuran Empire and to the west by the Abyssinian Empire.[87]Throughout the Middle Ages, Arab immigrants arrived inSomaliland, a historical experience which would later lead to the legendarystories about Muslim sheikhs such as Daarood and Ishaaq bin Ahmed (the purported ancestors of the Darod and Isaaq clans, respectively) travellingfrom Arabia to Somalia and marrying into the local Dir clan.[88]In 1332, the Zeila-based King of Adal was slain in a militarycampaign aimed at halting Abyssinian emperor Amda Seyon I's march toward the city.[89] When the last Sultan of Ifat, Sa'ad ad-Din II, was also killed by Emperor Dawit I in Zeila in 1410, his children escapedto Yemen, before returning in 1415.[90] In the early 15th century, Adal's capital was movedfurther inland to the town of Dakkar, where Sabr ad-Din II, the eldest son of Sa'ad ad-Din II,established a new base after his return from Yemen.[91][92]Adal's headquarters were again relocated the following century,this time southward to Harar. From this new capital, Adal organised an effective army led byImam Ahmad ibn Ibrahimal-Ghazi (Ahmad"Gurey" or "Gran"; both meaning "theleft-handed") and his closest top general Garad Hirabu"Emir Of The Somalis that invaded the Abyssinian empire.[92] This 16th-century campaign is historically known asthe Conquest of Abyssinia (Futuh al-Habash). During thewar, Imam Ahmad pioneered the use of cannons supplied by the Ottoman Empire,which he imported through Zeila and deployed against Abyssinian forces andtheir Portuguese allies led by Cristóvão da Gama.[93] Some scholars argue that this conflict proved, throughtheir use on both sides, the value of firearms such as the matchlock musket, cannon, and the arquebus over traditional weapons.[94]During the Ajuran Sultanate period, the city-states and republics of Merca, Mogadishu, Barawa, Hobyo and their respective ports flourishedand had a lucrative foreign commerce with ships sailing to and from Arabia,India, Venetia,[95] Persia, Egypt, Portugal, and as far away as China. Vasco da Gama, who passed by Mogadishu in the 15th century, noted that it wasa large city with houses several storeys high and large palaces in its centre,in addition to many mosques with cylindrical minarets.[96] The Harla, an early Hamitic group of tall stature who inhabitedparts of Somalia, Tchertcher and other areas in the Horn, also erectedvarious tumuli.[97] These masons are believed to have been ancestral to ethnicSomalis.[98]In the 16th century, Duarte Barbosa noted that many ships from the Kingdom of Cambaya in modern-day India sailed to Mogadishu with cloth andspices, for which they in return received gold, wax and ivory. Barbosa alsohighlighted the abundance of meat, wheat, barley, horses, and fruit on thecoastal markets, which generated enormous wealth for the merchants.[99] Mogadishu, the center of a thriving textile industry knownas toob benadir (specialized for the markets in Egypt, amongother places[100]), together with Merca and Barawa, also served as a transit stopfor Swahili merchants from Mombasa and Malindi and for the gold trade from Kilwa.[101] Jewish merchants from the Hormuz brought their Indian textile and fruit to the Somali coastin exchange for grain and wood.[102]Trading relations were established with Malacca in the 15th century,[103] with cloth, ambergris and porcelain being the maincommodities of the trade.[104] Giraffes, zebras and incense were exported to the Ming Empire of China, which established Somali merchants as leaders inthe commerce between East Asia and the Horn.[105] Hindu merchants from Surat and Southeast African merchantsfrom Pate,seeking to bypass both the Portuguese India blockade ( and later the Omani interference), used theSomali ports of Merca and Barawa (which were out of the two powers' directjurisdiction) to conduct their trade in safety and without interference.[106]Early modern era and the scramble for AfricaMain articles: Geledi sultanate, Isaaq Sultanate, Sultanate of Hobyo, and Dervish movement(Somali)See also: Italian Somaliland and British SomalilandIn the early modern period, successor states to the AdalSultanate and Ajuran Sultanate began to flourish in Somalia. These includedthe Hiraab Imamate, the Isaaq Sultanate led by the Guled dynasty,[107][108] the Habr Yunis Sultanate led by the Ainanshe dynasty,[27] the Sultanate of theGeledi (Gobroondynasty), the Majeerteen Sultanate (Migiurtinia), and the Sultanate of Hobyo (Obbia). They continued the tradition ofcastle-building and seaborne trade established by previous Somali empires.Sultan Yusuf Mahamud Ibrahim, the third Sultan of the House of Gobroon,started the golden age of the Gobroon Dynasty. His army came out victoriousduring the Bardheere Jihad, which restored stability in the region andrevitalized the East African ivory trade. He also had cordial relations and received gifts from therulers of neighbouring and distant kingdoms such as the Omani, Witu andYemeni Sultans.Sultan Ibrahim's son Ahmed Yusuf succeeded him as one of the mostimportant figures in 19th-century East Africa, receiving tribute from Omanigovernors and creating alliances with important Muslim families on the EastAfrican coast.In Somalland, the Isaaq Sultanate was established in 1750. TheIsaaq Sultanate was a Somali kingdom that ruled parts of the Horn of Africa during the 18th and 19th centuries.[107] It spanned the territories of the Isaaq clan, descendants of the Banu Hashim clan,[109] in modern-day Somaliland and Ethiopia. The sultanate was governed by the Rer Guledbranch established by the first sultan, Sultan Guled Abdi, of the Eidagale clan. The sultanate is the pre-colonial predecessor to themodern Republic of Somaliland.[110][111][112] According to oral tradition, prior to the Guled dynastythe Isaaq clan-family were ruled by a dynasty ofthe Tolje'lo branch starting from, descendants of Ahmed nicknamed Tol Je'lo,the eldest son of Sheikh Ishaaq's Harari wife. There were eight Tolje'lo rulersin total, starting with Boqor Harun (Somali: Boqor Haaruun) who ruled the Isaaq Sultanate for centuriesstarting from the 13th century.[113][114] The last Tolje'lo ruler Garad Dhuh Barar (Somali: Dhuux Baraar) was overthrown by a coalition of Isaaqclans. The once strong Tolje'lo clan were scattered and took refuge amongstthe Habr Awal with whom they still mostly live.[115][116]In the late 19th century, after the Berlin Conference of 1884, European powers began the Scramble for Africa. In that year, a British protectorate wasdeclared over part of Somalia, on the African coast opposite South Yemen.[117] Initially, this region was under the control of the IndianOffice, and so administered as part of the Indian Empire; in 1898 it wastransferred to control by London.[117] In 1889, the protectorate and later colony of Italian Somalia was officially established by Italy throughvarious treaties signed with a number of chiefs and sultans;[118] Sultan Yusuf Ali Kenadid first sent a request to Italy in late December 1888 tomake his Sultanate of Hobyo an Italian protectorate before latersigning a treaty in 1889.[119]The Dervish movement successfully repulsed the British Empirefour times and forced it to retreat to the coastal region.[120] The Darawiish defeated the Italian, British,Abyssinian colonial powers on numerous occasions, most notably, the 1903victory at Cagaarweyne commanded by Suleiman Aden Galaydh,[121] forcing the British Empire to retreat to the coastal region in the late 1900s.[122] The Dervishes were finally defeated in 1920 by Britishairpower.[123]The dawn of fascism in the early 1920s heralded a change of strategy forItaly, as the north-eastern sultanates were soon to be forced within theboundaries of La Grande Somalia ("Greater Somalia") according to the plan of Fascist Italy. With the arrivalof Governor Cesare Maria De Vecchi on 15 December 1923, things began tochange for that part of Somaliland known as Italian Somaliland. The last piece of land acquired by Italy inSomalia was Oltre Giuba, present-day Jubaland region, in 1925.[119]The Italians began local infrastructure projects, including theconstruction of hospitals, farms and schools.[124] Fascist Italy, under Benito Mussolini, attacked Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in 1935, with an aim to colonizeit. The invasion was condemned by the League of Nations, but little was done to stop it or to liberate occupiedEthiopia. In 1936, Italian Somalia was integrated into Italian East Africa, alongside Eritrea and Ethiopia, as the Somalia Governorate. On 3 August 1940, Italian troops, includingSomali colonial units, crossed from Ethiopia to invade BritishSomaliland, and by 14 August,succeeded in taking Berbera from the British.[citation needed]A British force, including troops from several Africancountries, launched the campaign in January1941 from Kenya toliberate British Somaliland and Italian-occupied Ethiopia and conquer ItalianSomaliland. By February most of Italian Somaliland was captured and, in March,British Somaliland was retaken from the sea. The forces of the British Empireoperating in Somaliland comprised the three divisions of South African, WestAfrican, and East African troops. They were assisted by Somali forces led byAbdulahi Hassan with Somalis of the Isaaq, Dhulbahante, and Warsangali clans prominently participating. Thenumber of Italian Somalis began to decline after World War II,with fewer than 10,000 remaining in 1960.[125]Independence (1960–1969)Following World War II, Britain retained control of both British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland as protectorates.In 1945, during the Potsdam Conference, the United Nations granted Italy trusteeshipof Italian Somaliland as the Trust Territory ofSomaliland, on the conditionfirst proposed by the Somali Youth League (SYL) and other nascent Somalipolitical organizations, such as Hizbia Digil Mirifle Somali (HDMS) and theSomali National League (SNL)—that Somalia achieve independence within tenyears.[126][127] British Somaliland remained a protectorate of Britainuntil 1960.[125]To the extent that Italy held the territory by UN mandate, thetrusteeship provisions gave the Somalis the opportunity to gain experience inWestern political education and self-government. These were advantages thatBritish Somaliland, which was to be incorporated into the new Somali state, didnot have. Although in the 1950s British colonial officials attempted, throughvarious administrative development efforts, to make up for past neglect, theprotectorate stagnated in political administrative development. The disparitybetween the two territories in economic development and political experiencewould later cause serious difficulties integrating the two parts.[128]Meanwhile, in 1948, under pressure from their World War IIallies and to the dismay of the Somalis,[129] the British returned the Haud (an important Somali grazing area thatwas presumably protected by British treaties with the Somalis in 1884 and 1886)and the Somali Region to Ethiopia, based on a treaty theysigned in 1897 in which the British ceded Somali territory to the EthiopianEmperor Menelik in exchange for his help againstpossible advances by the French.[130]Britain included the conditional provision that the Somaliresidents would retain their autonomy, but Ethiopia immediately claimedsovereignty over the area. This prompted an unsuccessful bid by Britain in 1956to buy back the Somali lands it had turned over.[126] Britain also granted administration of the almostexclusively Somali-inhabited Northern FrontierDistrict (NFD) to Kenyannationalists.[131][132] This was despite a plebiscite in which, according to a British colonial commission,almost all of the territory's ethnic Somalis favored joining the newly formedSomali Republic.[133]A referendum was held in neighbouring Djibouti (then known as French Somaliland) in 1958, on the eve of Somalia's independence in 1960, todecide whether or not to join the Somali Republic or to remain with France. Thereferendum turned out in favour of a continued association with France, largelydue to a combined yes vote by the sizable Afar ethnicgroup and resident Europeans.[134] There was also widespread vote rigging, with the Frenchexpelling thousands of Somalis before the referendum reached the polls.[135]The majority of those who voted 'no' were Somalis who werestrongly in favour of joining a united Somalia, as had been proposed by Mahmoud Harbi, Vice President of the Government Council. Harbi was killed ina plane crash two years later.[134] Djibouti finally gained independence from France in 1977, and Hassan Gouled Aptidon, a Somali who had campaigned for a 'yes' votein the referendum of 1976, eventually became Djibouti's first president(1977–1999).[134]On 1 July 1960, five days after the former British Somalilandprotectorate obtained independence as the State of Somaliland, the territoryunited with the Trust Territory of Somaliland to form the Somali Republic,[136] albeit within boundaries drawn up by Italy and Britain.[137][138] A government was formed by Abdullahi Issa and Muhammad Haji IbrahimEgal with othermembers of the trusteeship and protectorate governments, with Abdulcadir MuhammedAden as President ofthe Somali NationalAssembly, Aden Abdullah OsmanDaar as President of the Somali Republic, and Abdirashid AliShermarke as Prime Minister (later to become president from 1967 to1969). On 20 July 1961 and through a popular referendum, was ratified popularly by the people ofSomalia under Italian trusteeship, Most of the people from the formerSomaliland Protectorate did not participate in the referendum, although only asmall number of Somalilanders who participated the referendum voted againstthe new constitution,[139] which was first drafted in 1960.[35] In 1967, Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal became Prime Minister,a position to which he was appointed by Shermarke. Egal would later become thePresident of the autonomous Somaliland region in northwestern Somalia.On 15 October 1969, while paying a visit to the northern townof Las Anod, Somalia's then President Abdirashid Ali Shermarke was shotdead by one of his own bodyguards. His assassination was quickly followed by amilitary coup d'état on 21 October 1969 (the day after hisfuneral), in which the Somali Army seized power without encountering armedopposition — essentially a bloodless takeover. The putsch was spearheaded byMajor General Mohamed Siad Barre, who at the time commanded the army.[140]Somali Democratic Republic (1969–1991)Main articles: Somali DemocraticRepublic and 1969 Somali coupd'étatAlongside Barre, the Supreme RevolutionaryCouncil (SRC) thatassumed power after President Sharmarke's assassination was led by Brigadier General Mohamed Ainanshe Guled, Lieutenant Colonel Salaad Gabeyre Kediye and Chief of Police Jama Korshel. Kediye officially held the title "Father of theRevolution", and Barre shortly afterwards became the head of the SRC.[141] The SRC subsequently renamed the country the SomaliDemocratic Republic,[142][143] dissolved the parliament and the Supreme Court, andsuspended the constitution.[144]The revolutionary army established large-scale public worksprograms and successfully implemented an urban and rural literacy campaign, which helped dramatically increase the literacyrate. In addition to a nationalization program of industry and land, the newregime's foreign policy placed an emphasis on Somalia's traditional andreligious links with the Arab world, eventually joining the Arab League in February, 1974.[145] That same year, Barre also served as chairman of the Organisation ofAfrican Unity (OAU), thepredecessor of the African Union (AU).[146]In July 1976, Barre's SRC disbanded itself and established inits place the Somali RevolutionarySocialist Party (SRSP),a one-party government based on scientific socialism and Islamic tenets. The SRSP was anattempt to reconcile the official state ideology with the official statereligion by adapting Marxistprecepts to localcircumstances. Emphasis was placed on the Muslim principles of social progress,equality and justice, which the government argued formed the core of scientificsocialism and its own accent on self-sufficiency, public participation and popularcontrol, as well as direct ownership of the means of production. While the SRSPencouraged private investment on a limited scale, the administration's overalldirection was essentially communist.[144]In July 1977, the Ogaden War broke out after Barre's government used a plea fornational unity to justify an aggressive incorporation of the predominantly Somali-inhabited Ogaden region of Ethiopia into a Pan-Somali Greater Somalia, along with the rich agricultural lands of south-easternEthiopia, infrastructure, and strategically important areas as far north asDjibouti.[147] In the first week of the conflict, Somali armed forcestook southern and central Ogaden and for most of the war, the Somali armyscored continuous victories on the Ethiopian army and followed them as faras Sidamo. By September 1977, Somalia controlled 90% of the Ogaden andcaptured strategic cities such as Jijiga and put heavy pressure on Dire Dawa, threatening the train route from the latter city to Djibouti.After the siege of Harar, a massive unprecedented Soviet interventionconsisting of 20,000 Cuban forces and several thousand Soviet experts came to the aidof Ethiopia's communist Derg regime. By 1978, the Somali troops were ultimately pushedout of the Ogaden. This shift in support by the Soviet Union motivated theBarre government to seek allies elsewhere. It eventually settled on theSoviets' Cold War arch-rival, the United States, which had been courting the Somali government for some time.All in all, Somalia's initial friendship with the Soviet Union and laterpartnership with the United States enabled it to build the largest army inAfrica.[148]A new constitution was promulgated in 1979 under which electionsfor a People's Assembly were held. However, Barre's Somali Revolutionary SocialistParty politburo continued to rule.[143] In October 1980, the SRSP was disbanded, and the SupremeRevolutionary Council was re-established in its place.[144] By that time, Barre's government had become increasinglyunpopular. Many Somalis had become disillusioned with life under militarydictatorship.The regime was weakened further in the 1980s as the Cold Wardrew to a close and Somalia's strategic importance was diminished. Thegovernment became increasingly authoritarian, and resistance movements, encouraged by Ethiopia, sprang up across thecountry, eventually leading to the Somali Civil War. Among the militia groups were the Somali SalvationDemocratic Front (SSDF), United Somali Congress (USC), Somali NationalMovement (SNM) andthe Somali PatrioticMovement (SPM), togetherwith the non-violent political oppositions of the Somali DemocraticMovement (SDM), the Somali DemocraticAlliance (SDA) and theSomali Manifesto Group (SMG).Somalia Civil WarMain articles: Somali Civil War, History of Somalia(1991–2006), Isaaq genocide, and Somaliland War ofIndependenceAs the moral authority of Barre's government was gradually eroded, many Somalisbecame disillusioned with life under military rule. By the mid-1980s,resistance movements supported by Ethiopia's communist Derg administration had sprung up across thecountry. Barre responded by ordering punitive measures against those heperceived as locally supporting the guerrillas, especially in the northernregions. The clampdown included bombing of cities, with the northwesternadministrative centre of Hargeisa, a Somali NationalMovement (SNM)stronghold, among the targeted areas in 1988.[149][150] The bombardment was led by General Mohammed Said HersiMorgan, Barre's son-in-law.[151]During 1990, in the capital city of Mogadishu, the residentswere prohibited from gathering publicly in groups greater than three or four.Fuel shortages caused long lines of cars at petrol stations. Inflation haddriven the price of pasta (ordinary dry Italian noodles, a staple at that time)to five U.S. dollars per kilogram. The price of khat, imported daily from Kenya, was also fiveU.S. dollars per standard bunch. Paper currency notes were of such low valuethat several bundles were needed to pay for simple restaurant meals.A thriving black market existed in the centre of the city asbanks experienced shortages of local currency for exchange. At night, the cityof Mogadishu lay in darkness. Close monitoring of all visiting foreigners wasin effect. Harsh exchange control regulations were introduced to prevent export of foreigncurrency. Although no travel restrictions were placed on foreigners,photographing many locations was banned. During daytime in Mogadishu, theappearance of any government military force was extremely rare. Allegedlate-night operations by government authorities, however, included"disappearances" of individuals from their homes.[152]In 1991, the Barre administration was ousted by a coalition ofclan-based opposition groups, backed by Ethiopia's then-ruling Derg regime and Libya.[153] Following a meeting of the Somali NationalMovement and northernclans' elders, the northern former British portion of the country declared itsindependence as the Republic of Somaliland in May 1991. Although de facto independent and relatively stablecompared to the tumultuous south, it has not been recognized by any foreigngovernment.[154][155]Many of the opposition groups subsequently began competing forinfluence in the power vacuum that followed the ouster of Barre's regime. Inthe south, armed factions led by USC commanders General Mohamed Farah Aidid and Ali Mahdi Mohamed, in particular, clashed as each sought to exert authority overthe capital.[157] In 1991, a multi-phased international conference onSomalia was held in neighbouring Djibouti. Aidid boycotted the first meeting inprotest.[158]Owing to the legitimacy bestowed on Muhammad by the Djibouticonference, he was subsequently recognized by the international community asthe new President of Somalia. Djibouti, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Italy were among the countries that officially extendedrecognition to Muhammad's administration.[158] He was not able to exert his authority beyond parts of thecapital. Power was instead vied with other faction leaders in the southern halfof Somalia and with autonomous sub-national entities in the north.[159] The Djibouti conference was followed by two abortiveagreements for national reconciliation and disarmament, which were signed by 15political stakeholders: an agreement to hold an Informal Preparatory Meeting onNational Reconciliation, and the 1993 Addis Ababa Agreement made at theConference on National Reconciliation.[citation needed]In the early 1990s, due to the protracted lack of a permanentcentral authority, Somalia began to be characterized as a "failed state".[160][161][162] Political scientist Ken Menkhaus argues that evidence suggested that the nation had alreadyattained failed state status by the mid-1980s,[163] while Robert I. Rotberg similarly posits that the state failure had preceded theouster of the Barre administration.[164] Hoehne (2009), Branwen (2009) and Verhoeven (2009) alsoused Somalia during this period as a case study to critique various aspects ofthe "state failure" discourse.[165]Transitional institutionsMain articles: Transitional NationalGovernment, Transitional FederalInstitutions, Transitional FederalGovernment,and Transitional FederalParliamentThe Transitional National Government (TNG) was established inApril–May 2000 at the Somalia National Peace Conference (SNPC) held in Arta,Djibouti. Abdiqasim Salad Hassan was selected as the President of thenation's new Transitional National Government (TNG), an interim administrationformed to guide Somalia to its third permanent republican government.[166] The TNG's internal problems led to the replacement of thePrime Minister four times in three years, and the administrative body'sreported bankruptcy in December 2003. Its mandate ended at the same time.[167]On 10 October 2004, legislators elected Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed as the first President of the Transitional FederalGovernment (TFG), theTransitional National Government's successor.[168] the TFG was the second interim administration aiming torestore national institutions to Somalia after the 1991 collapse of the SiadBarre regime and the ensuing civil war.[169]The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) was theinternationally recognised government of Somalia until 20 August 2012, when itstenure officially ended.[46] It was established as one of the Transitional FederalInstitutions (TFIs) ofgovernment as defined in the Transitional FederalCharter (TFC) adopted inNovember 2004 by the Transitional FederalParliament (TFP). TheTransitional Federal Government officially comprised the executive branch of government, with the TFPserving as the legislative branch. The government was headed bythe President of Somalia, to whom the cabinet reported through the Prime Minister. However, it was also used as a general termto refer to all three branches collectively.[citation needed]Islamic Courts UnionSee also: Islamic Courts UnionIn 2006, the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), assumed control of much of thesouthern part of the country for 6 months and imposed Shari'a law. Top UN officials have referred to this brief periodas a 'Golden era' in the history of Somali politics.[170][171]Transitional Federal GovernmentSee also: Somalia War(2006–2009) and Battle of Mogadishu(2006)The Transitional Federal Government sought to re-establish itsauthority, and, with the assistance of Ethiopian troops, African Union peacekeepers and air support by the United States, droveout the ICU and solidified its rule.[172] On 8 January 2007, TFG President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed entered Mogadishu with the Ethiopianmilitary support for the first time since being elected to office. Thegovernment then relocated to Villa Somalia in the capital from its interim location in Baidoa. This marked the first time since the fall of the Siad Barreregime in 1991 that the federal government controlled most of the country.[173]Al Shabaab insurgencySee also: Al-Shabaab (militantgroup)Al-Shabaab opposed the Ethiopian military'spresence in Somalia and continued an insurgency against the TFG. Throughout2007 and 2008, Al-Shabaab scored military victories, seizing control of keytowns and ports in both central and southern Somalia. By January 2009,Al-Shabaab and other militias had forced the Ethiopian troops to retreat,leaving behind an under-equipped African Union peacekeeping force to assist theTransitional Federal Government's troops.[174]Owing to a lack of funding and human resources, an arms embargo that made it difficult to re-establish a national securityforce, and general indifference on the part of the international community,Yusuf found himself obliged to deploy thousands of troops from Puntland toMogadishu to sustain the battle against insurgent elements in the southern partof the country. Financial support for this effort was provided by theautonomous region's government. This left little revenue for Puntland's ownsecurity forces and civil service employees, leaving the territory vulnerableto piracy and terrorist attacks.[175][176]On 29 December 2008, Yusuf announced before a united parliamentin Baidoa his resignation as President of Somalia. In his speech, which wasbroadcast on national radio, Yusuf expressed regret at failing to end thecountry's seventeen-year conflict as his government had been mandated to do.[177] He also blamed the international community for theirfailure to support the government, and said that the speaker of parliamentwould succeed him in office per the Charter of the Transitional Federal Government.[178]End of transitional periodSee also: Hizbul Islam, Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a, Alliancefor the Re-liberation of Somalia, Somali Civil War(2009–present), and 2009 timeline of theWar in SomaliaBetween 31 May and 9 June 2008, representatives of Somalia'sfederal government and the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS)participated in peace talks in Djibouti brokered by the former United NationsSpecial Envoy to Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah. The conference ended with a signed agreementcalling for the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops in exchange for the cessation ofarmed confrontation. Parliament was subsequently expanded to 550 seats toaccommodate ARS members, which then elected Sheikh Sharif SheikhAhmed, as president.[1]With the help of a small team of African Union troops, the TFGbegan a counteroffensive in February 2009 to assume full controlof the southern half of the country. To solidify its rule, the TFG formed analliance with the Islamic Courts Union, other members of the Alliance for theRe-liberation of Somalia, and Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a, a moderate Sufi militia.[179] Furthermore, Al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam, the two mainIslamist groups in opposition, began to fight amongst themselves in mid-2009.[180] As a truce, in March 2009, the TFG announced that it wouldre-implement Shari'a as the nation's official judicial system.[181] However, conflict continued in the southern and centralparts of the country. Within months, the TFG had gone from holding about 70% ofsouth-central Somalia's conflict zones, to losing control of over 80% of thedisputed territory to the Islamist insurgents.[173]In October 2011, a coordinated operation, Operation Linda Nchi between the Somali and Kenyan militariesand multinational forces began against the Al-Shabaab in southern Somalia.[182][183] By September 2012, Somali, Kenyan, and Raskamboni forces had managed to captureAl-Shabaab's last major stronghold, the southern port of Kismayo.[184] In July 2012, three European Union operations werelaunched to engage with Somalia: EUTM Somalia, EU Naval Force Somalia Operation Atalanta off the Horn of Africa, and EUCAPNestor.[185]As part of the official "Roadmap for the End ofTransition", a political process that provided clear benchmarks leadingtoward the formation of permanent democratic institutions in Somalia, theTransitional Federal Government's interim mandate ended on 20 August 2012.[39] The Federal Parliament ofSomalia was concurrentlyinaugurated.[46]Federal governmentThe Federal Government ofSomalia, the first permanentcentral government in the country since the start of the civil war, was establishedin August 2012. In August 2014, the Somali government-led Operation Indian Ocean was launched against insurgent-heldpockets in the countryside.[186]GeographyMain article: Geography of SomaliaSomalia is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, the Gulf of Aden to the north, the Somali Sea and Guardafui Channel to the east, and Kenya to the southwest. With a land area of637,657 square kilometers, Somalia's terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains and highlands.[187] Its coastline is more than 3,333 kilometers in length,the longest of mainland Africa.[12] It has been described as being roughly shaped "like atilted number seven".[188]In the far north, the rugged east–west ranges of the Ogo Mountains lie at varying distances from the Gulf of Aden coast. Hotconditions prevail year-round, along with periodic monsoon winds and irregular rainfall.[13] Geology suggests the presence of valuable mineraldeposits. Somalia is separated from Seychelles by the Somali Sea and is separated from Socotra by the Guardafui Channel.Administrative divisionsMain articles: Administrativedivisions of Somalia and States and regions ofSomaliaSomalia is officially divided into eighteen regions (gobollada, singular gobol),[1] which in turn are subdivided into districts. The regionsare:Northern Somalia is now de facto divided upamong the autonomous regions of Puntland (which considers itself an autonomous state), Somaliland (a self-declared but unrecognized state) and newly established Khatumo State of Somalia. In central Somalia, Galmudug is another regional entity that emerged just south ofPuntland. Jubaland in the far south is a fourth autonomous region within thefederation.[1] In 2014, a new South West State was likewise established.[189] In April 2015, a formation conference was also launchedfor a new Hirshabelle State.[190]The Federal Parliament is tasked with selecting the ultimatenumber and boundaries of the autonomous regional states (officially Federal Member States) within the Federal Republic of Somalia.[191][192]LocationSomalia is bordered by Kenya to the southwest, the Gulf of Aden to the north, the Guardafui Channel and Indian Ocean to the east, and Ethiopia to the west.The country borders Djibouti. It lies between latitudes 2°S and 12°N, and longitudes 41° and 52°E. Strategically located at the mouth ofthe Bab el Mandeb gateway to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, the country occupies the tip of a region that, due to itsresemblance on the map to a rhinoceros' horn, is commonly referred to as the Horn of Africa.[1][193]WatersMain article: Islands of SomaliaSomalia has the longest coastline on the mainland of Africa,[194] with a seaboard that stretches 3,333 kilometres(2,071 mi). Its terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains and highlands. The nation has a total area of 637,657 square kilometres(246,201 sq mi) of which constitutes land, with 10,320 squarekilometres (3,980 sq mi) of water. Somalia's land boundaries extendto about 2,340 kilometres (1,450 mi); 58 kilometres (36 mi) of thatis shared with Djibouti, 682 kilometres (424 mi) with Kenya, and 1,626kilometres (1,010 mi) with Ethiopia. Its maritime claims include territorial waters of 200 nautical miles (370 km;230 mi).[1]Somalia has several islands and archipelagos on its coast,including the Bajuni Islands and the Saad ad-DinArchipelago: see islands of Somalia.HabitatSomalia contains seven terrestrial ecoregions: Ethiopian montaneforests, Northern Zanzibar–Inhambane coastal forest mosaic, SomaliAcacia–Commiphora bushlands and thickets, Ethiopianxeric grasslands and shrublands, Hobyo grasslands andshrublands, Somali montane xericwoodlands, and East African mangroves.[195]In the north, a scrub-covered, semi-desert plain referred asthe Guban lies parallel to the Gulf of Aden littoral. With a width of twelve kilometres in the west to as little astwo kilometres in the east, the plain is bisected by watercourses that areessentially beds of dry sand except during the rainy seasons. When the rainsarrive, the Guban's low bushes and grass clumps transform into lush vegetation.[193] This coastal strip is part of the Ethiopianxeric grasslands and shrublands ecoregion.Cal Madow is a mountain range in the northeastern part of the country.Extending from several kilometres west of the city of Bosaso to the northwest of Erigavo, it features Somalia's highest peak, Shimbiris, which sits at an elevation of about 2,416 metres(7,927 ft).[1] The rugged east–west ranges of the Karkaar Mountains alsolie to the interior of the Gulf of Aden littoral.[193] In the central regions, the country's northern mountainranges give way to shallow plateaus and typically dry watercourses that arereferred to locally as the Ogo. The Ogo's western plateau, in turn,gradually merges into the Haud, an important grazing area for livestock.[193]Somalia has only two permanent rivers, the Jubba and Shabele, both of which begin in the Ethiopian Highlands. These rivers mainly flow southwards, withthe Jubba River entering the Indian Ocean at Kismayo. The Shabele River at one time apparently used to enter the seanear Merca, but now reaches a point just southwest ofMogadishu. After that, it consists of swamps and dry reaches before finallydisappearing in the desert terrain east of Jilib, near the Jubba River.[193]EnvironmentSomalia is a semi-arid country with about 1.64% arable land.[1] The first local environmental organizations were EcoterraSomalia and the Somali Ecological Society, both of which helped promoteawareness about ecological concerns and mobilized environmental programs in allgovernmental sectors as well as in civil society. From 1971 onward, a massivetree-planting campaign on a nationwide scale was introduced by the Siad Barregovernment to halt the advance of thousands of acres of wind-driven sand dunes that threatened to engulf towns, roads and farm land.[196] By 1988, 265 hectares of a projected 336 hectares had beentreated, with 39 range reserve sites and 36 forestry plantation sitesestablished.[193] In 1986, the Wildlife Rescue, Research and MonitoringCentre was established by Ecoterra International, with the goal of sensitizingthe public to ecological issues. This educational effort led in 1989 to theso-called "Somalia proposal" and a decision by the Somali governmentto adhere to the Convention on International Trade inEndangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which established for the firsttime a worldwide ban on the trade of elephant ivory.Later, Fatima Jibrell, a prominent Somali environmental activist,mounted a successful campaign to conserve old-growth forests of acacia trees in the northeastern part of Somalia.[197] These trees, which can live for 500 years, were being cutdown to make charcoal which was highly in demand in the Arabian Peninsula,where the region's Bedouin tribes believe the acacia to be sacred.[197][198][199] However, while being a relatively inexpensive fuel thatmeets a user's needs, the production of charcoal often leads to deforestation and desertification.[199] As a way of addressing this problem, Jibrell and the Hornof Africa Relief and Development Organization (Horn Relief; now Adeso), an organization of which she was thefounder and executive director, trained a group of teens to educate the publicon the permanent damage that producing charcoal can create. In 1999, HornRelief coordinated a peace march in the northeastern Puntland region of Somaliato put an end to the so-called "charcoal wars". As a result ofJibrell's lobbying and education efforts, the Puntland government in 2000prohibited the exportation of charcoal. The government has also since enforcedthe ban, which has reportedly led to an 80% drop in exports of the product.[200] Jibrell was awarded the Goldman EnvironmentalPrize in 2002 for herefforts against environmental degradation and desertification.[200] In 2008, she also won the National GeographicSociety/Buffett Foundation Award for Leadership in Conservation.[201]Following the massive tsunami of December2004, there have alsoemerged allegations that after the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in the late 1980s, Somalia's long, remote shoreline wasused as a dump site for the disposal of toxic waste. The huge waves thatbattered northern Somalia after the tsunami are believed to have stirred uptons of nuclear and toxic waste that might have been dumped illegally in thecountry by foreign firms.[202]The European Green Party followed up these revelations bypresenting before the press and the European Parliament in Strasbourg copies of contracts signed by two European companies — theItalian Swiss firm, Achair Partners, and an Italian waste broker, Progresso — and representatives of the then President ofSomalia, the faction leader Ali Mahdi Mohamed, to accept 10 million tonnes oftoxic waste in exchange for $80 million (then about £60 million).[202]According to reports by the United NationsEnvironment Programme (UNEP), the waste has resulted in far higher than normalcases of respiratory infections, mouth ulcers and bleeding, abdominalhaemorrhages and unusual skin infections among many inhabitants of the areasaround the northeastern towns of Hobyo and Benadir on the Indian Ocean coast — diseases consistent withradiation sickness. UNEP adds that the situation along the Somali coastlineposes a very serious environmental hazard not only in Somalia, but also in theeastern Africa sub-region.[202]ClimateSee also: Climate change inSomaliaOwing to Somalia's proximity to the equator, there is not much seasonal variation in its climate. Hotconditions prevail year-round along with periodic monsoon winds and irregular rainfall. Mean daily maximumtemperatures range from 30 to 40 °C (86 to 104 °F), except at higherelevations along the eastern seaboard, where the effects of a cold offshorecurrent can be felt. In Mogadishu, for instance, average afternoon highs rangefrom 28 to 32 °C (82 to 90 °F) in April. Some of the highest meanannual temperatures in the world have been recorded in the country; Berbera on the northwestern coast has an afternoon high thataverages more than 38 °C (100 °F) from June through September.Nationally, mean daily minimums usually vary from about 15 to 30 °C (59 to86 °F).[193] The greatest range in climate occurs in northern Somalia,where temperatures sometimes surpass 45 °C (113 °F) in July on thelittoral plains and drop below the freezing point during December in thehighlands.[13][193] In this region, relative humidity ranges from about 40% inthe mid-afternoon to 85% at night, changing somewhat according to the season.[193] Unlike the climates of most other countries at thislatitude, conditions in Somalia range from arid in the northeastern and centralregions to semiarid in the northwest and south. In thenortheast, annual rainfall is less than 100 mm (4 in); in the centralplateaus, it is about 200 to 300 mm (8 to 12 in). The northwesternand southwestern parts of the nation, however, receive considerably more rain,with an average of 510 to 610 mm (20 to 24 in) falling per year.Although the coastal regions are hot and humid throughout the year, thehinterland is typically dry and hot.[193]There are four main seasons around which pastoral andagricultural life revolve, and these are dictated by shifts in the windpatterns. From December to March is the Jilal, the harshest dryseason of the year. The main rainy season, referred to as the Gu,lasts from April to June. This period is characterized by the southwestmonsoons, which rejuvenate the pasture land, especially the central plateau,and briefly transform the desert into lush vegetation. From July to Septemberis the second dry season, the Xagaa (pronounced"Hagaa"). The Dayr, which is the shortest rainy season,lasts from October to December.[193] The tangambili periods that intervenebetween the two monsoons (October–November and March–May) are hot and humid.[193]WildlifeMain article: Wildlife of SomaliaSomalia contains a variety of mammals due to its geographicaland climatic diversity. Wildlife still occurring includes cheetah, lion, reticulated giraffe, baboon, serval, elephant, bushpig, gazelle, ibex, kudu, dik-dik, oribi, Somali wild ass, reedbuck and Grévy's zebra, elephant shrew, rock hyrax, golden mole and antelope. It also has a large population of the dromedary camel.[203]Somalia is home to around 727 species of birds. Of these, eightare endemic, one has been introduced by humans, and one is rare or accidental.Fourteen species are globally threatened. Birds species found exclusively inthe country include the Somali Pigeon, Alaemon hamertoni (Alaudidae), Lesser Hoopoe-Lark, Heteromirafra archeri (Alaudidae), Archer's Lark, Mirafra ashi, Ash's Bushlark, Mirafra somalica (Alaudidae), Somali Bushlark, Spizocorys obbiensis (Alaudidae), Obbia Lark, Carduelis johannis (Fringillidae), and Warsangli Linnet.[204]Somalia's territorial waters are prime fishing grounds forhighly migratory marine species, such as tuna. A narrow but productivecontinental shelf contains several demersal fish and crustacean species.[205] Fish species found exclusively in the nation include Cirrhitichthysrandalli (Cirrhitidae), Symphurus fuscus (Cynoglossidae), Parapercis simulata OC (Pinguipedidae), Cociella somaliensis OC (Platycephalidae), and Pseudochromis melanotus (Pseudochromidae).There are roughly 235 species of reptiles. Of these, almost halflive in the northern areas. Reptiles endemic to Somalia include theHughes' saw-scaled viper, the Southern Somali garter snake, a racer (Platycepsmessanai), a diadem snake (Spalerosophis josephscorteccii), theSomali sand boa, the angled worm lizard, a spiny-tailed lizard (Uromastyxmacfadyeni), Lanza's agama, a gecko (Hemidactylus granchii), theSomali semaphore gecko, and a sand lizard (Mesalina or Eremias). A colubrid snake (Aprosdoketophisandreonei) and Haacke-Greer's skink (Haackgreerius miopus) areendemic species.[206]Politics and governmentMain article: Politics of SomaliaSomalia is a parliamentary representativedemocratic republic. The President of Somalia is the head of state and commander-in-chief of the Somali Armed Forces and selects a Prime Minister to act as head of government.[207]The Federal Parliament ofSomalia is the nationalparliament of Somalia. The bicameral National Legislature consists of the Houseof the People (lower house) and the Senate (upper house), whose members are elected to servefour-year terms. The parliament elects the President, Speaker of Parliament andDeputy Speakers. It also has the authority to pass and veto laws.[208]The Judiciary of Somalia is defined by the ProvisionalConstitution of the FederalRepublic of Somalia. Adopted on 1 August 2012 by a National ConstitutionalAssembly in Mogadishu,[209][210] the document was formulated by a committee of specialistschaired by attorney and Speaker of the Federal Parliament, Mohamed Osman Jawari.[211] It provides the legal foundation for the existence of theFederal Republic and source of legal authority.[212]The national court structure is organized into three tiers: theConstitutional Court, Federal Government level courts and State level courts. A nine-member JudicialService Commission appoints any Federal tier member of the judiciary. It alsoselects and presents potential Constitutional Court judges to the House of thePeople of the Federal Parliament for approval. If endorsed, the Presidentappoints the candidate as a judge of the Constitutional Court. The five-memberConstitutional Court adjudicates issues pertaining to the constitution, inaddition to various Federal and sub-national matters.[212]Somali law draws from a mixture of three differentsystems: civil law, Islamic law and customary law.[213]According to 2023 V-Dem Democracyindices Somalia is 5thleast democratic country inAfrica.[214]After the collapse of Somalia in 1991, there were no relations or any contactbetween the Somaliland government, which declared itself a country, andthe government of Somalia.[215][216]Foreign relationsMain article: Foreign relations ofSomaliaSomalia's foreign relations are handled by the President as the headof state, the Prime Minister as the head of government, and the federal Ministry of ForeignAffairs.[212]According to Article 54 of the national constitution, theallocation of powers and resources between the Federal Government and theFederal Republic of Somalia's constituent Federal Member States shall benegotiated and agreed upon by the Federal Government and the Federal MemberStates, except in matters pertaining to foreign affairs, national defence,citizenship and immigration, and monetary policy. Article 53 also stipulatesthat the Federal Government shall consult the Federal Member States on major issuesrelated to international agreements, including negotiations vis-a-vis foreigntrade, finance and treaties.[212] The Federal Government maintains bilateral relations with a number of other central governments in theinternational community. Among these are Djibouti, Ethiopia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Turkey, Italy, the United Kingdom, Denmark, France, the United States, the People's Republic ofChina, Japan, Russian Federation and South Korea.Additionally, Somalia has several diplomatic missions abroad. There are likewise various foreign embassies andconsulates based in thecapital Mogadishu and elsewhere in the country.Somalia is also a member of many international organizations,such as the United Nations, African Union and Arab League. It was a founding member of the Organisation ofIslamic Cooperation in1969.[217] Other memberships include the African DevelopmentBank, East African Community, Group of 77, IntergovernmentalAuthority on Development, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, InternationalCivil Aviation Organization, InternationalDevelopment Association, International FinanceCorporation, Non-Aligned Movement, World Federation ofTrade Unions and World MeteorologicalOrganization.MilitaryMain article: Somali Armed ForcesThe Somali Armed Forces (SAF) are the military forces of theFederal Republic of Somalia.[218] Headed by the President as Commander in Chief, they areconstitutionally mandated to ensure the nation's sovereignty, independence andterritorial integrity.[212]The SAF was initially made up of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force and the National SecurityService.[219] In the post-independence period, it grew to become amongthe larger militaries on the continent.[148] The subsequent outbreak of the civil war in 1991 led to the disbandment of the Somali NationalArmy.[220]In 2004, the gradual process of reconstituting the military wasput in motion with the establishment of the Transitional Federal Government(TFG). The Somali Armed Forces are now overseen by the Ministry of Defence of the Federal Government of Somalia,formed in mid-2012. In January 2013, the Somali federal government alsore-opened the national intelligence service in Mogadishu, renaming the agencythe NationalIntelligence and Security Agency (NISA).[221] The Somaliland and Puntland regional governments maintain their ownsecurity and police forces.Human rightsMain article: Human rights inSomaliaBoth male and female same-sex sexualactivity are punishable by death within Somalia.[222]On October 3, 2020, a UN human rights investigator raised concerns over Somaligovernment's backtracking of human rights commitments. According to informationcollected by the investigator, Somali authorities were regressing oncommitments to protect peoples' economic, social and cultural rights.[223]EconomyMain article: Economy of SomaliaAccording to the CIA and the Central Bank ofSomalia, despite experiencingcivil unrest, Somalia has maintained a healthy informal economy, based mainly on livestock, remittance/money transfer companies and telecommunications.[1][51] Owing to a dearth of formal government statistics and therecent civil war, it is difficult to gauge the size or growthof the economy. For 1994, the CIA estimated the GDP at $3.3 billion.[224] In 2001, it was estimated to be $4.1 billion.[225] By 2009, the CIA estimated that the GDP had grown to$5.731 billion, with a projected real growth rate of 2.6%.[1] According to a 2007 British Chambers ofCommerce report, theprivate sector also grew, particularly in the service sector. Unlike thepre-civil war period when most services and the industrial sector were government-run, there has been substantial, albeitunmeasured, private investment in commercial activities; this has been largelyfinanced by the Somali diaspora, and includes trade and marketing, money transfer services,transportation, communications, fishery equipment, airlines,telecommunications, education, health, construction and hotels.[226] Libertarian economist Peter Leeson attributes this increased economic activity to theSomali customary law (referred to as Xeer), which he suggests provides a stableenvironment to conduct business in.[227]According to the Central Bank of Somalia, the country's GDP percapita as of 2012 is $226, a slight reduction in real terms from 1990.[228] About 43% of the population lives on less than 1 US dollara day, with around 24% of those found in urban areas and 54% living in ruralareas.[51]Somalia's economy consists of both traditional and modernproduction, with a gradual shift toward modern industrial techniques. Somaliahas the largest population of camels in the world.[229] According to the Central Bank of Somalia, about 80% of thepopulation are nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoralists, who keep goats, sheep,camels and cattle. The nomads also gather resins and gums to supplement theirincome.[51]AgricultureSee also: Agriculture in SomaliaAgriculture is the most important economic sector of Somalia. Itaccounts for about 65% of the GDP and employs 65% of the workforce.[226] Livestock contributes about 40% to GDP and more than 50%of export earnings.[1] Other principal exports include fish, charcoal and bananas; sugar, sorghum and corn are products for the domestic market.[1] According to the Central Bank of Somalia, imports of goodstotal about $460 million per year, surpassing aggregate imports prior to thestart of the civil war in 1991. Exports, which total about $270 millionannually, have also surpassed pre-war aggregate export levels. Somalia has atrade deficit of about $190 million per year, but this is exceeded byremittances sent by Somalis in the diaspora, estimated to be about $1 billion.[51]With the advantage of being located near the Arabian Peninsula,Somali traders have increasingly begun to challenge Australia's traditional dominance over the Gulf Arab livestock and meatmarket, offering quality animals at very low prices. In response, Gulf Arabstates have started to make strategic investments in the country, with Saudi Arabia building livestock export infrastructure and the United Arab Emirates purchasing large farmlands.[230] Somalia is also a major world supplier of frankincense and myrrh.[231]The modest industrial sector, based on the processing of agriculturalproducts, accounts for 10% of Somalia's GDP.[1] According to the Somali Chamber ofCommerce and Industry, over six private airline firms also offer commercial flights to both domestic andinternational locations, including Daallo Airlines, Jubba Airways, African ExpressAirways, East Africa 540,Central Air and Hajara.[232] In 2008, the Puntland government signed amultimillion-dollar deal with Dubai's Lootah Group, a regional industrial groupoperating in the Middle East and Africa. According to the agreement, the firstphase of the investment is worth Dhs 170 m and will see a set of newcompanies established to operate, manage and build Bosaso's free trade zone and sea and airport facilities. The BosasoAirport Company is slated to develop the airport complex to meet internationalstandards, including a new 3,400 m (11,200 ft) runway, main andauxiliary buildings, taxi and apron areas, and security perimeters.[233]Prior to the outbreak of the civil war in 1991, the roughly 53state-owned small, medium and large manufacturing firms were foundering, withthe ensuing conflict destroying many of the remaining industries. However,primarily as a result of substantial local investment by the Somali diaspora,many of these small-scale plants have re-opened and newer ones have beencreated. The latter include fish-canning and meat-processing plants in thenorthern regions, as well as about 25 factories in the Mogadishu area, whichmanufacture pasta, mineral water, confections, plastic bags, fabric, hides and skins, detergent and soap, aluminium, foam mattresses and pillows, fishing boats, carry out packaging, and stone processing.[234] In 2004, an $8.3 million Coca-Cola bottling plant also opened in the city, with investorshailing from various constituencies in Somalia.[235] Foreign investment also included multinationalsincluding General Motors and Dole Fruit.[236]Monetary and payment systemMain articles: Central Bank ofSomalia and Somali shillingThe Central Bank of Somalia is the official monetary authority of Somalia.[51] In terms of financial management, it is in the process ofassuming the task of both formulating and implementing monetary policy.[237]Owing to a lack of confidence in the local currency, the US dollar is widely accepted as a medium ofexchange alongside the Somali shilling. Dollarization notwithstanding, the large issuance of the Somali shillinghas increasingly fuelled price hikes, especially for low value transactions.According to the Central Bank, this inflationary environment is expected tocome to an end as soon as the bank assumes full control of monetary policy andreplaces the presently circulating currency introduced by the private sector.[237]Although Somalia has had no central monetary authority for morethan 15 years between the outbreak of the civil war in 1991 and the subsequentre-establishment of the Central Bank of Somalia in 2009, the nation's paymentsystem is fairly advanced primarily due to the widespread existence ofprivate money transferoperators (MTO) that haveacted as informal banking networks.[238]These remittance firms (hawalas) have become a large industry in Somalia, with an estimatedUS$1.6 billion annually remitted to the region by Somalis in the diaspora via money transfer companies.[1] Most are members of the Somali Money Transfer Association(SOMTA), an umbrella organization that regulates the community's money transfersector, or its predecessor, the Somali Financial Services Association (SFSA).[239][240] The largest of the Somali MTOs is Dahabshiil, a Somali-owned firm employing more than 2,000 people across144 countries with branches in London and Dubai.[240]As the reconstituted Central Bank of Somalia fully assumes itsmonetary policy responsibilities, some of the existing money transfer companiesare expected in the near future to seek licenses so as to develop intofull-fledged commercial banks. This will serve to expand the national paymentssystem to include formal cheques, which in turn is expected to reinforce theefficacy of the use of monetary policy in domestic macroeconomic management.[238]With a significant improvement in local security, Somaliexpatriates began returning to the country for investment opportunities.Coupled with modest foreign investment, the inflow of funds have helped theSomali shilling increase considerably in value. By March 2014, the currency hadappreciated by almost 60% against the U.S. dollar over the previous 12 months.The Somali shilling was the strongest among the 175 global currencies tradedby Bloomberg, rising close to 50 percentage points higher than the next mostrobust global currency over the same period.[241]The Somalia Stock Exchange (SSE) is the national bourse of Somalia. It was founded in 2012 by the Somalidiplomat Idd Mohamed, Ambassador extraordinary and deputypermanent representative to the United Nations. The SSE was established toattract investment from both Somali-owned firms and global companies in orderto accelerate the ongoing post-conflict reconstruction process in Somalia.[242]Energy and natural resourcesMain articles: Mineral industry ofSomalia and Oil exploration inPuntlandThe World Bank reports that electricity is now in large part supplied by local businesses.[226] Among these domestic firms is the Somali Energy Company, which performs generation, transmission anddistribution of electric power.[243] In 2010, the nation produced 310 million kWh and consumed288.3 million kWh of electricity, ranked 170th and 177th, respectively,according to the CIA.[1][needs update]Somalia has reserves of several natural resources,including uranium, iron ore, tin, gypsum, bauxite, copper, salt and natural gas. The CIA reports that there are 5.663 billioncubic metres of proven natural gas reserves.[1]The presence or extent of proven oil reserves in Somalia isuncertain. The CIA asserts that as of 2011 there are no proven reserves ofoil in the country,[1] while UNCTAD suggests that most proven oil reserves in Somalia lie offits northwestern coast, in the Somaliland region.[244] An oil group listed in Sydney, Range Resources, estimates that the Puntland region in the northeast has thepotential to produce 5 billion barrels (790×106 m3)to 10 billion barrels (1.6×109 m3) of oil,[245] compared to the 6.7 billion barrels of proven oil reservesin Sudan.[246] As a result of these developments, the Somalia PetroleumCorporation was establishedby the federal government.[247]In the late 1960s, UN geologists also discovered major uraniumdeposits and other rare mineral reserves in Somalia. The find was the largestof its kind, with industry experts estimating that the amount of the depositscould amount to over 25% of the world's then known uranium reserves of 800,000tons.[248] In 1984, the IUREP Orientation Phase Mission to Somaliareported that the country had 5,000 tons of uranium reasonably assuredresources (RAR), 11,000 tons of uranium estimated additional resources (EAR)in calcrete deposits, as well as 0–150,000 tons of uranium speculativeresources (SR) in sandstone and calcrete deposits.[249] Somalia evolved into a major world supplier of uranium,with American, UAE, Italian and Brazilian mineral companies vying forextraction rights. Link Natural Resources has a stake in the central region,and Kilimanjaro Capital has a stake in the 1,161,400 acres (470,002 ha)Amsas-Coriole-Afgoi (ACA) Block, which includes uranium exploration.[250]The Trans-National Industrial Electricity and Gas Company is an energy conglomerate based in Mogadishu. It unites five majorSomali companies from the trade, finance, security and telecommunications sectors, following a 2010 jointagreement signed in Istanbul to provide electricity and gasinfrastructure in Somalia. With an initial investment budget of $1 billion, thecompany launched the Somalia Peace Dividend Project, a labour-intensive energyprogram aimed at facilitating local industrialization initiatives.According to the Central Bank of Somalia, as the nation embarkson the path of reconstruction, the economy is expected to not only match itspre-civil war levels, but also to accelerate in growth and development due toSomalia's untapped natural resources.[51]Telecommunications and mediaMain articles: Communications inSomalia and Media of SomaliaAfter the start of the civil war, various new telecommunicationscompanies began to spring up and compete to provide missing infrastructure.Funded by Somali entrepreneurs and backed by expertise from China, South Korea and Europe, these nascent telecommunications firms offeraffordable mobile phone and Internet services that are notavailable in many other parts of the continent. Customers can conduct money transfers (such as through the popular Dahabshiil) and other banking activities via mobile phones, as well aseasily gain wireless Internet access.[251]After forming partnerships with multinational corporations suchas Sprint, ITT and Telenor, these firms now offer the cheapest and clearest phone calls inAfrica.[252] These Somali telecommunication companies also provideservices to every city and town in Somalia. There are presently around 25mainlines per 1,000 persons, and the local availability of telephone lines (tele-density)is higher than in neighbouring countries; three times greater than in adjacentEthiopia.[234] Prominent Somali telecommunications companiesinclude Golis Telecom Group, Hormuud Telecom, Somafone, Nationlink, Netco, Telcom and Somali Telecom Group. Hormuud Telecom alone grosses about $40million a year. Despite their rivalry, several of these companies signed aninter-connectivity deal in 2005 that allows them to set prices, maintain andexpand their networks, and ensure that competition does not get out of control.[251]Investment in the telecom industry is held to be one of theclearest signs that Somalia's economy has continued to develop despite civilstrife in parts of the country.[251]The state-run Somali NationalTelevision is the principalnational public service TV channel. After a twenty-year hiatus, the station wasofficially re-launched on 4 April 2011.[253] Its radio counterpart Radio Mogadishu also broadcasts from the capital. Somaliland National TV and Puntland TV and Radio air from the northern regions.Additionally, Somalia has several private television and radionetworks. Among these are Horn Cable Television and Universal TV.[1] The political Xog Doon and Xog Ogaal and Horyaal Sportsbroadsheets publish out of the capital. There are also a number of online mediaoutlets covering local news,[254] including Garowe Online, Wardheernews, and Puntland Post.The internet country code top-leveldomain (ccTLD) forSomalia is .so.It was officially relaunched on 1 November 2010 by .SO Registry, which isregulated by the nation's Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications.[255]On 22 March 2012, the Somali Cabinet also unanimously approvedthe National Communications Act. The bill paves the way for the establishmentof a National Communications regulator in the broadcasting andtelecommunications sectors.[256]In November 2013, following a Memorandum of Understanding signedwith Emirates Post in April of the year, the federal Ministry of Posts andTelecommunications officially reconstituted the Somali Postal Service (Somali Post).[257] In October 2014, the ministry also relaunched postaldelivery from abroad.[258] The postal system is slated to be implemented in each of the country's 18 administrative provinces via a new postal coding and numbering system.[259] !!! Combined shipping !!!How to get Combined shipping. I do offer combinedshipping for multiple purchases. To get discounted shipping for thebundle, you need to use "shopping cart" with ''requesttotal from seller'' option. Please use personal computer. If you have a smartphone or tablet, then theeBay app does not support combined shipping.ShippingShipments are made from Connecticut, United States of America.Shipped with United States Postal Service (USPS) First Class Mail.Buyers have been satisfied with my services and responsiveness.100% Positive Feedback

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