Puntland
Puntland is a region in northeastern
Somalia, centered around Garowe (
Nugaal region), which in
1998 declared itself to be an independent republic. The current government apparently sees the move as an attempt to reconstitute Somalia as a federative republic.
History
Puntland was originally a part of a unified Somalia. however in 1969, when Somalia's government was toppled in a
coup d'état, years of war and chaos followed. An unsuccessful invasion of
Ethiopia followed the
Soviet Union\'s change of support from Somalia to Ethiopia, caused by the communist takeover in Ethiopia. Left without Soviet support, Somalia turned to the
United States, which allowed Somalia's self-proclaimed president,
Siad Barre, to stay in power through the end of the
Cold War in
1991. When the Soviet Union collapsed, American support for the Somali government was withdrawn, and Barre was overthrown.
Following these events, Somalis remained without a strong government, with constant wars ravaging the southern part of
Somalia. These events led to the 1991 secession of
Somaliland, which in
1960 had enjoyed a few days of independence. Anarchy continued throughout the land, prompting a
United Nations peacekeeping force to be sent to war-torn Somalia. The relief effort ended however in
March 3,
1995, after American troops were shot down and massacred.
Somalia remained unstable and, in
1998, Puntland declared independence under the presidency of Abdullahi Yusuf, as a nation with clan confederation as one of its top priorities. Since 1998, Puntland has been in territorial disputes with Somaliland over the
Sool and
Sanaag regions.
Geography
Puntland probably occupies the following Regions of Somalia:
Also,\n*
Sanaag\n*
Sool\n*
Jubbada Dhexe\n*
Jubbada Hoose
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