Somalia

WHY IN NEWS?

Al-Shabaab, the al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group that was ousted from Mogadishu in 2011 by international forces, has claimed the responsibility of the massive truck bomb attack in Mogadishu that killed at least 79 people and injured 149 points.

ABOUT SOMALIA

• Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia is a sovereign country located in the Horn of Africa.
• It is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, the Gulf of Aden to the north, the Guardafui Channel and Somali Sea to the east, and Kenya to the southwest.
• The country claims a border with Djibouti through the disputed territory of Somaliland. Somalia has the longest coastline on Africa's mainland.
• Somalia has hardly been stable since the fall of Dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. With different clans and militia groups vying for influence and power, the country plunged into a cyclical civil strife.
• The U.S. sent troops in in 1992 as part of an international humanitarian and peacekeeping mission, but it pulled out of the country in 1994 after 18 American soldiers were killed in the ‘Black Hawk Down’ incident. Shabaab rose from the anarchy that prevailed over the country.
• It spread its influence fast across Somalia, capturing even Mogadishu, until U.S. and African Union troops ousted it. Since then, the group has been attacking the internationally-backed federal government and the people residing in government-controlled areas through guerrilla and terror strikes.

Prelims Question

Q. Puntland region which sometimes occurs in news is located at?

a)Syria
b)Iran
c)Australia
d)Somalia

Answer to the Prelims Question