Prehistory complex depicting a long-horned cow Somalia was likely one of the first lands to be settled by early humans due to its location.
Hunter-gatherers who would later migrate out of Africa likely settled here before their migrations. The oldest evidence of burial customs in the Horn of Africa comes from cemeteries in Somalia dating back to the 4th millennium BC. The stone implements from the Jalelo site in the north were also characterised in 1909 as important artefacts demonstrating the archaeological universality during the Paleolithic between the East and the West. According to linguists, the first
Afroasiatic-speaking populations arrived in the region during the ensuing
Neolithic period from the family's proposed
urheimat ("original homeland") in the
Nile Valley, or the
Near East. The
Laas Geel complex on the outskirts of
Hargeisa in northwestern Somalia dates back approximately 5,000 years, and has
rock art depicting both wild animals and decorated cows. Other
cave paintings are found in the northern
Dhambalin region, which feature one of the earliest known depictions of a hunter on horseback. The rock art is dated to 1,000 to 3,000 BC. Additionally, between the towns of
Las Khorey and
El Ayo in northern Somalia lies
Karinhegane, the site of numerous cave paintings, which collectively have been estimated to be around 2,500 years old. The
camel is believed to have been domesticated in the Horn region sometime between the 2nd and 3rd millennium BC. From there, it spread to
Egypt and the
Maghreb.
Antiquity and classical era carrying Gifts, Tomb of
Rekhmire. Ancient
pyramidical structures,
mausoleums, ruined cities and stone walls, such as the
Wargaade Wall, are evidence of an old civilisation that once thrived in the Somali peninsula. This civilisation enjoyed a trading relationship with
ancient Egypt and
Mycenaean Greece since the second millennium BC, supporting the hypothesis that Somalia or adjacent regions were the location of the ancient
Land of Punt. 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. An Egyptian 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. 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. The Macrobian ruler, who was elected based on his stature and beauty, replied instead with a challenge for his Persian counterpart in the form of an unstrung bow: if the Persians could manage to draw it, they would have the right to invade his country; but until then, they should thank the gods that the Macrobians never decided to invade their empire. The Macrobians were a regional power reputed for their advanced architecture and
gold wealth, which was so plentiful that they shackled their prisoners in golden chains. to protect the interests of Somali and Arab merchants in the lucrative commerce between the Red and Mediterranean Seas. However, Indian merchants continued to trade in the port cities of the Somali peninsula, which was free from Roman interference. For centuries, Indian merchants brought large quantities of cinnamon to Somalia and Arabia from
Ceylon and the
Spice Islands. The source of the cinnamon and other spices is said to have been the best-kept secret of Arab and Somali merchants in their trade with the Roman and Greek world; the Romans and Greeks believed the source to have been the Somali peninsula. The collusive agreement among Somali and Arab traders inflated the price of Indian and Chinese cinnamon in North Africa, the Near East, and Europe, and made the cinnamon trade a very profitable revenue generator, especially for the Somali merchants. In the late 9th century,
Al-Yaqubi wrote that Muslims were living along the northern Somali seaboard. He also mentioned that the
Adal Kingdom had its capital in the city. According to
Leo Africanus, the
Adal Sultanate was governed by local
Somali dynasties and its realm encompassed the geographical area between the Bab el Mandeb and Cape Guardafui. It was thus flanked to the south by the
Ajuran Empire and to the west by the
Abyssinian Empire. Throughout the Middle Ages, Arab immigrants arrived in Somaliland, a historical experience which would later lead to the legendary stories about Muslim
sheikhs such as
Daarood and
Ishaaq bin Ahmed (the purported ancestors of the
Darod and
Isaaq clans, respectively) travelling from
Arabia to Somalia and marrying into the local
Dir clan. In 1332, the Zeila-based King of Adal was slain in a military campaign aimed at halting Abyssinian emperor
Amda Seyon I's march toward the city. When the last Sultan of Ifat,
Sa'ad ad-Din II, was also killed by Emperor
Dawit I in Zeila in 1410, his children escaped to Yemen, before returning in 1415. In the early 15th century, Adal's capital was moved further 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. Muslim Chinese diplomat
Zheng He visited Mogadishu in his voyages to the horn of Africa. ,
Imam of the
Adal Empire Adal's headquarters were again relocated the following century, this time southward to
Harar. From this new capital, Adal organised an effective army led by Imam
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi, (Ahmad "Gurey" or "Gran"; both meaning "the left-handed") and his closest top general and brother in law
Garad Matan. Imam Ahmed clan is documented to be from the
Geri Koombe, a sub clan of Darod. This 16th-century campaign is historically known as the
Conquest of Abyssinia (
Futuh al-Habash). During the war, Imam Ahmad pioneered the use of cannons supplied by the Ottoman Empire, which he imported through Zeila and deployed against Abyssinian forces and their Portuguese allies led by
Cristóvão da Gama. During the
Ajuran Sultanate period, the city-states and republics of
Merca,
Mogadishu,
Barawa,
Hobyo and their respective ports flourished and had a lucrative foreign commerce with ships sailing to and from Arabia, India,
Venetia, Persia, Egypt, Portugal, and as far away as China.
Vasco da Gama, who passed by Mogadishu in the 15th century, noted that it was a large city with houses several storeys high and large palaces in its centre, in addition to many mosques with cylindrical minarets. The
Harla, an early
Hamitic group of tall stature who inhabited parts of Somalia, Tchertcher and other areas in the Horn, also erected various
tumuli. These masons are believed to have been ancestral to ethnic Somalis. maintained commercial ties with the
Ming dynasty and other kingdoms.|left|268x268px In the 16th century,
Duarte Barbosa noted that many ships from the
Kingdom of Cambaya in modern-day India sailed to Mogadishu with cloth and spices, for which they in return received gold, wax and ivory. Barbosa also highlighted the abundance of meat, wheat, barley, horses, and fruit on the coastal markets, which generated enormous wealth for the merchants. Mogadishu, the centre of a thriving textile industry known as
toob benadir (specialised for the markets in Egypt, among other places), together with Merca and Barawa, also served as a transit stop for
Swahili merchants from
Mombasa and
Malindi and for the gold trade from
Kilwa.
Jewish merchants from the
Hormuz brought their Indian textile and fruit to the Somali coast in exchange for
grain and wood. Trading relations were established with
Malacca in the 15th century, with cloth, ambergris and porcelain being the main commodities of the trade. Giraffes, zebras and incense were exported to the
Ming Empire of China, which established Somali merchants as leaders in the commerce between East Asia and the Horn. Hindu merchants from
Surat and Southeast African merchants from
Pate, seeking to bypass both the
Portuguese India blockade (and later the Omani interference), used the Somali ports of Merca and Barawa (which were out of the two powers' direct jurisdiction) to conduct their trade in safety and without interference.
Early modern era and the scramble for Africa , capital of
Italian Somaliland, with the
Catholic Cathedral at the centre and the Arch monument in honour of
King Umberto I of Italy (third from right) and his delegation, in
Benito Mussolini's Italy, during the festivities of
Adolf Hitler's visit to
Rome, 1938|261x261px In the
early modern period, successor states to the Adal Sultanate and
Ajuran Sultanate began to flourish in Somalia. These included the
Hiraab Imamate, the
Isaaq Sultanate led by the
Guled dynasty, the
Habr Yunis Sultanate led by the
Ainanshe dynasty, the
Sultanate of the Geledi (Gobroon dynasty), the
Majeerteen Sultanate (Migiurtinia), and the
Sultanate of Hobyo (Obbia). They continued the tradition of castle-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 victorious during the Bardheere Jihad, which restored stability in the region and revitalised the East African
ivory trade. He also had cordial relations and received gifts from the rulers of neighbouring and distant kingdoms such as the Omani,
Witu and Yemeni Sultans. Sultan Ibrahim's son
Ahmed Yusuf succeeded him as one of the most important figures in 19th-century East Africa, receiving tribute from Omani governors and creating alliances with important Muslim families on the East African coast. In
Somaliland, the Isaaq Sultanate was established in 1750. The Isaaq Sultanate was a Somali kingdom that ruled parts of the
Horn of Africa during the 18th and 19th centuries. in modern-day Somaliland and Ethiopia. The sultanate was governed by the Rer Guled branch established by the first sultan, Sultan
Guled Abdi, of the
Eidagale clan. According to oral tradition, prior to the Guled dynasty the Isaaq clan-family were ruled by a dynasty of the 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 rulers in total, starting with Boqor Harun () who ruled the Isaaq Sultanate for centuries starting from the 13th century. The last Tolje'lo ruler
Garad Dhuh Barar () was overthrown by a coalition of Isaaq clans. The once strong Tolje'lo clan were scattered and took refuge amongst the
Habr Awal with whom they still mostly live. In the late 19th century, after the
Berlin Conference of 1884, European powers began the
Scramble for Africa. In that year, a British protectorate was declared over part of Somalia, on the African coast opposite South Yemen. Initially, this region was under the control of the Indian Office, and so administered as part of the Indian Empire; in 1898 it was transferred to control by London. Sultan
Yusuf Ali Kenadid first sent a request to Italy in late December 1888 to make his
Sultanate of Hobyo an Italian protectorate before later signing a treaty in 1889. cavalry and fort The Dervish movement successfully repulsed the British Empire four times and forced it to retreat to the coastal region. The
Darawiish defeated the Italian, British, Abyssinian colonial powers on numerous occasions, most notably, the 1903 victory at Cagaarweyne commanded by
Suleiman Aden Galaydh, forcing the
British Empire to retreat to the coastal region in the early 1900s. The Dervishes were finally defeated in 1920 by British airpower. The dawn of
fascism in the early 1920s heralded a change of strategy for Italy, as the north-eastern sultanates were soon to be forced within the boundaries of
La Grande Somalia ("
Greater Somalia") according to the plan of Fascist Italy. With the arrival of Governor
Cesare Maria De Vecchi on 15 December 1923, things began to change for that part of Somaliland known as
Italian Somaliland. De Vecchi was responsible for an aggressive expansion campaign and large construction projects, including the
cathedral of Mogadishu. The last piece of land acquired by Italy in Somalia was
Oltre Giuba, present-day
Jubaland region, in 1925.
Fascist Italy, under
Benito Mussolini, attacked Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in 1935, with an aim to colonise it. The invasion was condemned by the
League of Nations, but little was done to stop it or to liberate occupied Ethiopia. In 1936, Italian Somalia was integrated into
Italian East Africa, alongside Eritrea and Ethiopia, as the
Somalia Governorate. On 3 August 1940, Italian troops, including Somali colonial units, crossed from Ethiopia to
invade British Somaliland, and by 14 August, succeeded in taking
Berbera from the British. A British force, including troops from several African countries, launched the
campaign in January 1941 from Kenya to liberate British Somaliland and Italian-occupied Ethiopia and conquer Italian Somaliland. By February most of Italian Somaliland was captured and, in March, British Somaliland was retaken from the sea. The forces of the British Empire operating in Somaliland comprised the three divisions of South African, West African, and East African troops. They were assisted by Somali forces led by Abdulahi Hassan with Somalis of the
Isaaq,
Dhulbahante, and
Warsangali clans prominently participating. The number of
Italian Somalis began to decline after World War II, with fewer than 10,000 remaining in 1960. British Somaliland remained a protectorate of Britain until 1960. clan photographed in
Hargeisa in 1958 during the Duke & Duchess of Gloucester's visit to Somaliland To the extent that
Italy held the territory by UN mandate, the trusteeship provisions gave the Somalis the opportunity to gain experience in Western political education and self-government. These were advantages that British Somaliland, which was to be incorporated into the new Somali state, did not have. Although in the 1950s British colonial officials attempted, through various administrative development efforts, to make up for past neglect, the protectorate stagnated in political administrative development. The disparity between the two territories in economic development and political experience would later cause serious difficulties integrating the two parts. in 1963Meanwhile, in 1948, under pressure from their World War II allies and to the dismay of the Somalis, the British returned the
Haud (an important Somali grazing area that was presumably protected by British treaties with the Somalis in 1884 and 1886) and the
Somali Region to Ethiopia, based on a treaty they signed in 1897 in which the British ceded Somali territory to the Ethiopian Emperor
Menelik in exchange for his help against possible advances by the French. Britain included the conditional provision that the Somali residents would retain their autonomy, but Ethiopia immediately claimed sovereignty over the area. This prompted an unsuccessful bid by Britain in 1956 to buy back the Somali lands it had turned over. This was despite a
plebiscite in which, according to a British colonial commission, almost all of the territory's ethnic Somalis favoured joining the newly formed Somali Republic. A
referendum was held in neighbouring
Djibouti (then known as
French Somaliland) in 1958, on the eve of Somalia's independence in 1960, to decide whether or not to join the Somali Republic or to remain with France. The referendum turned out in favour of a continued association with France, largely due to a combined yes vote by the sizeable
Afar ethnic group and resident Europeans. The majority of those who voted 'no' were Somalis who were strongly in favour of joining a united Somalia, as had been proposed by
Mahmoud Harbi, Vice President of the Government Council. Harbi was killed in a plane crash two years later. Djibouti finally gained independence from
France in 1977, and
Hassan Gouled Aptidon, a Somali who had campaigned for a 'yes' vote in the referendum of 1976, eventually became Djibouti's first president (1977–1999). albeit within boundaries drawn up by Italy and Britain. A government was formed by
Abdullahi Issa and
Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal with other members of the trusteeship and protectorate governments, with
Abdulcadir Muhammed Aden as President of the
Somali National Assembly,
Aden Abdullah Osman Daar as
President of the Somali Republic, and
Abdirashid Ali Shermarke as
Prime Minister (later to become president from 1967 to 1969). On 20 July 1961 and through a
popular referendum, was ratified popularly by the people of Somalia under Italian trusteeship. Most of the people from the former Somaliland Protectorate did not participate in the referendum, although only a small number of Somalilanders who participated the referendum voted against the
new constitution, which was first drafted in 1960. In 1967, Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal became Prime Minister, a position to which he was appointed by Shermarke. Egal would later become the President of the autonomous
Somaliland region in northwestern Somalia.
Somali Democratic Republic (1969–1991) Coup d'État On 15 October, while President Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke was touring drought-stricken Las Anood, his personal bodyguard shot and killed him. In a memo to then-president
Richard Nixon, former US Secretary of State
Henry Kissinger concluded that the bodyguard was acting of his own accord. Six days later, on 21 October, General
Siad Barre led a military coup and successfully overthrew the parliamentary government. Modern political analysts assert that the coup was motivated by corruption in the parliamentary government. The bodyguard was tried, tortured and executed by the
Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC). He came from the same clan background as the president whom he killed. in
North Korea meeting President
Kim Il Sung 1970 Alongside Barre, the SRC that assumed 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 the Revolution", and Barre shortly afterwards became the head of the SRC. The SRC subsequently renamed the country the Somali Democratic Republic, dissolved the parliament and the Supreme Court, and suspended the constitution. The revolutionary government established large-scale public works programs and successfully implemented an urban and rural
literacy campaign, which helped dramatically increase the literacy rate. The Somali Democratic Republic achieved a literacy rate of 70%, one of the highest in Africa at the time. In addition to a nationalisation program of industry and land, the new regime's foreign policy placed an emphasis on Somalia's traditional and religious links with the
Arab world, eventually joining the
Arab League in February 1974. That same year, Barre also served as chairman of the
Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the predecessor of the
African Union (AU). In July 1976, Barre's SRC disbanded itself and established in its place the
Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party (SRSP), a one-party government based on
scientific socialism and Islamic tenets. The SRSP was an attempt to reconcile the official state ideology with the official state religion by
adapting Marxist precepts to local circumstances. Emphasis was placed on the Muslim principles of social progress, equality, and justice, which the government argued formed the core of scientific socialism and its own accent on self-sufficiency, public participation, and popular control, as well as direct ownership of the means of production. While the SRSP encouraged private investment on a limited scale, the administration's overall direction was essentially
communist. In the first week of the conflict, Somali armed forces took southern and central Ogaden, and for most of the war, the Somali army scored continuous victories over the Ethiopian army and followed them as far as
Sidamo. By September 1977, Somalia controlled 90% of the Ogaden and captured 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 intervention consisting of 20,000
Cuban forces and several thousand Soviet experts came to the aid of Ethiopia's communist
Derg regime. By 1978, the Somali troops were ultimately pushed out of the Ogaden. This shift in support by the Soviet Union motivated the Barre government to seek allies elsewhere. It eventually settled on the Soviets'
Cold War arch-rival, the
United States, which had been courting the Somali government for some time. Somalia's initial friendship with the Soviet Union and later partnership with the United States enabled it to build the largest army in Africa., Chairman of the
Supreme Revolutionary Council, meeting with President of Romania
Nicolae CeauşescuA new constitution was promulgated in 1979 under which elections for a People's Assembly were held. However, Barre's Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party
politburo continued to rule. The clampdown initiated by
Barre's government extended its reach beyond the initial bombings in the north to encompass various regions across the country. This reproduction of aggressive strategies aimed at stifling dissent and retaining authority over the populace was a hallmark of the government's repressive actions in the South. One of the most notable instances occurred in 1991, when Barre's regime initiated a ruthless aerial assault that led to the deaths of numerous individuals in the town of
Beledwene, situated in southern Somalia. Another notable instance of
Barre's repressive policies occurred in the city of
Baidoa, which earned the nickname 'the city of death' due to the events that unfolded there during the famine and
civil war. Hundreds of thousands of individuals lost their lives as a consequence of governmental strategies specifically aimed at the
Rahanweyn community residing in these areas. During 1990, in the capital city of Mogadishu, the residents were prohibited from gathering publicly in groups greater than three or four. Fuel shortages, inflation, and currency devaluation impacted the economy. A thriving black market existed in the centre of the city as banks experienced shortages of local currency for exchange. Harsh
exchange control regulations were introduced to prevent export of foreign currency. Although no travel restrictions were placed on foreigners, photographing many locations was banned. During daytime in Mogadishu, the appearance of any government military force was extremely rare. Alleged late-night operations by government authorities, however, included "disappearances" of individuals from their homes. In 1991, the Barre administration was ousted by a coalition of clan-based opposition groups, backed by Ethiopia's then-ruling
Derg regime and
Libya. Following a meeting of the
Somali National Movement and northern clans' elders, the northern former British portion of the country
declared its independence as the
Republic of Somaliland in May 1991. Although independent and relatively stable compared to the tumultuous south, it was not recognised by any foreign government, until
Israel recognised it in 2025. Many of the opposition groups subsequently began competing for influence in the power vacuum that followed the ouster of Barre's regime. In the south, armed factions led by USC commanders General
Mohamed Farah Aidid and
Ali Mahdi Mohamed, in particular, clashed as each sought to exert authority over the capital. In 1991, a multi-phased international conference on Somalia was held in neighbouring Djibouti. Owing to the legitimacy bestowed on Muhammad by the Djibouti conference, he was subsequently recognised by the international community as the new President of Somalia. The Djibouti conference was followed by two abortive agreements for national reconciliation and disarmament, which were signed by 15 political stakeholders: an agreement to hold an Informal Preparatory Meeting on National Reconciliation, and the 1993 Addis Ababa Agreement made at the Conference on National Reconciliation. In the early 1990s, due to the protracted lack of a permanent central authority, Somalia began to be characterised as a "
failed state."
Transitional institutions , president of the transitional government of Somalia The Transitional National Government (TNG) was established in April–May 2000 at the Somalia National Peace Conference (SNPC) held in Arta, Djibouti.
Abdiqasim Salad Hassan was selected as the President of the nation's new Transitional National Government (TNG), an interim administration formed to guide Somalia to its third permanent republican government. The TNG's internal problems led to the replacement of the Prime Minister four times in three years, and the administrative body's reported bankruptcy in December 2003. Its mandate ended at the same time. On 10 October 2004, legislators elected
Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed as the first President of the
Transitional Federal Government (TFG), the Transitional National Government's successor. The TFG was the second interim administration aiming to restore national institutions to Somalia after the 1991 collapse of the Siad Barre regime and the ensuing civil war. The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) was the internationally recognised government of Somalia until 20 August 2012, when its tenure officially ended. It was established as one of the
Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs) of government as defined in the
Transitional Federal Charter (TFC) adopted in November 2004 by the
Transitional Federal Parliament (TFP). The Transitional Federal Government officially comprised the
executive branch of government, with the TFP serving as the
legislative branch. The government was headed by the
President of Somalia, to whom the
cabinet reported through the
Prime Minister. However, it was also used as a general term to refer to all three branches collectively.
Islamic Courts Union In 2006, the
Islamic Courts Union (ICU) assumed control of much of the southern part of the country for 6 months and imposed
Shari'a law. Top UN officials have referred to this brief period as a 'Golden era' in the history of Somali politics.
Transitional Federal Government The Transitional Federal Government sought to reestablish its authority, and, with the assistance of
Ethiopian troops,
African Union peacekeepers and air support by the United States, drove out the ICU and solidified its rule. On 8 January 2007, TFG President
Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed entered Mogadishu with the Ethiopian military support for the first time since being elected to office. The government 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 Barre regime in 1991 that the federal government controlled most of the country.
Al-Shabaab insurgency Al-Shabaab opposed the Ethiopian military's presence in Somalia and continued an insurgency against the TFG. Throughout 2007 and 2008, Al-Shabaab scored military victories, seizing control of key towns 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 the Transitional Federal Government's troops. Owing to a lack of funding and human resources, an
arms embargo that made it difficult to reestablish a national security force, and general indifference on the part of the international community, Yusuf found himself obliged to deploy thousands of troops from Puntland to Mogadishu to sustain the battle against insurgent elements in the southern part of the country. Financial support for this effort was provided by the autonomous region's government. This left little revenue for Puntland's own security forces and civil service employees, leaving the territory vulnerable to piracy and terrorist attacks. On 29 December 2008, Yusuf announced before a united parliament in Baidoa his resignation as President of Somalia. In his speech, which was broadcast on national radio, Yusuf expressed regret at failing to end the country's seventeen-year conflict as his government had been mandated to do. He also blamed the international community for their failure to support the government, and said that the speaker of parliament would succeed him in office per the
Charter of the Transitional Federal Government.
End of transitional period Between 31 May and 9 June 2008, representatives of Somalia's federal government and the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) participated in peace talks in Djibouti brokered by the former United Nations Special Envoy to Somalia,
Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah. The conference ended with a signed agreement calling for the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops in exchange for the cessation of armed confrontation. Parliament was subsequently expanded to 550 seats to accommodate ARS members, which then elected
Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, as president. Furthermore, Al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam, the two main Islamist groups in opposition, began to fight amongst themselves in mid-2009. As a truce, in March 2009, the TFG announced that it would reimplement Shari'a as the nation's official judicial system. However, conflict continued in the southern and central parts of the country. Within months, the TFG had gone from holding about 70% of south-central Somalia's conflict zones, to losing control of over 80% of the disputed territory to the Islamist insurgents. By September 2012, Somali, Kenyan, and
Raskamboni forces had managed to capture Al-Shabaab's last major stronghold, the southern port of Kismayo. In July 2012, three European Union operations were launched to engage with Somalia:
EUTM Somalia, EU Naval Force Somalia
Operation Atalanta off the Horn of Africa, and EUCAP Nestor. As part of the official "Roadmap for the End of Transition", a political process that provided clear benchmarks leading toward the formation of permanent democratic institutions in Somalia, the Transitional Federal Government's interim mandate ended on 20 August 2012. The
Federal Parliament of Somalia was concurrently inaugurated.
2021–2023 drought The
2021–2023 Somali drought was Somalia's most severe drought in 40 years, and affected 7.8 million people. == Geography ==