somalia

• country on the east coast of africa
somalia is a country in the horn of africa which formerly comprised british somaliland and italian somalia. the two became a united, independent country in 1960. since the overthrow of major-general mohammed siyad barre in 1991, there has been civil war. among the fighting groups are those of the former interim president, ali mahdi mohammed, and those of general mohammed farah aydid. the north-west region of the country was proclaimed the republic of somaliland by the somali national movement in 1991, but it has not received international recognition. the civil war caused widespread famine and a major refugee crisis. in 1992 us and un troops intervened to safeguard emergency food supplies, but became progressively more involved in the conflict. us troops were withdrawn in 1994. somalia is a member of the arab league and the organization of african unity.