Somalilandsun: Somaliland is a breakaway state in Somalia that has spent the past few decades fighting and pushing for independence from the unstable turbulence in Somalia. Somaliland’s people have also suffered from the Horn of Africa’s destabilization resulting from the wars and ethnic cleansing in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Sudan.
Currently, several ongoing conflicts are intertwined with Somaliland’s fight for international legitimacy, and the people of the unrecognized state could suffer the most if this regional cataclysm isn’t contained.
Somaliland’s Status
Against the backdrop of the European scramble for Africa, Somaliland came under the control of British rule, while the rest of Somalia fell under the Kingdom of Italy. In the aftermath of World War II and decolonization, the British Empire granted Somaliland brief independence only if it united with the former Trust Territories of Italy.
After uniting with the Italian protectorate, Somaliland was marginalized in the newly formed constitution, and the northerners gradually rose up against various regimes that controlled Mogadishu. Having reached their threshold of oppression and marginalization, Somalilanders launched a war of independence in 1981 against the federal government.
The Siad Barre regime, which ruled during this time, crushed the uprising, leading to the Isaaq genocide that killed 200,000 people. Somaliland, with its capital in Hargeisa, achieved nominal independence in the early 1990s, albeit without international recognition. Continue reading
