Somalia

American  

[soh-mah-lee-uh, -mahl-yuh] / soʊˈmɑ li ə, -ˈmɑl yə /

noun

1. an independent republic on the eastern coast of Africa, formed from the former British Somaliland and the former Italian Somaliland. 246,198 sq. mi. (637,653 sq. km). Mogadishu.

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Somalia British  

/ səʊˈmɑːlɪə /

noun

1. a republic in NE Africa, on the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden: the north became a British protectorate in 1884; the east and south were established as an Italian protectorate in 1889; gained independence and united as Somalia (or the Somali Republic) in 1960. In 1991 the former British Somaliland region in the north unilaterally declared itself independent as the Republic of Somaliland, and Puntland and other areas are also operating effectively as separate states, but this has not been recognized officially. Official languages: Arabic and Somali. Official religion: (Sunni) Muslim. Currency: Somali shilling. Capital: Mogadishu. Pop: 10 251 568 (2013 est). Area: 637 541 sq km (246 154 sq miles)

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Somalia Cultural  

1. Republic in extreme eastern Africa, directly south of the Arabian Peninsula across the Gulf of Aden, bordered by Ethiopia and Kenya to the west. Mogadishu is the capital and largest city.

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Civil war and famine have recently ravaged the country. In 1992, the United States embarked on a humanitarian intervention designed to ensure delivery of food supplies to the population. After American troops were drawn into a conflict between local warlords and suffered casualties, the United States withdrew from Somalia in 1994. The country currently lacks any central government.

Britain, France, and Italy established protectorates in the area in the late 1880s. Somalia gained independence in 1960.

Other Word Forms

• Somalian adjective

Example Sentences

Targets, so far, have included Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Nigeria, Iran and the waters off Venezuela and Colombia.

From Los Angeles Times

It quotes figures saying that 4.6 million people in Somalia are facing crisis levels of hunger.

From BBC

US State Department officials rebuked Somalia's leaders On Wednesday over reports of food aid theft and paused "all ongoing US assistance programs" to its government, according to a post to X.

From Barron's

Last month Israel became the first country in the world to recognise Somaliland, which declared independence from Somalia more than 30 years ago.

From BBC

Israeli officials have argued that their recognition of Somaliland is grounded in the fact that it has an effective democratic electoral system, with its own military and government acting independently from Somalia for decades.

From The Wall Street Journal