Portal:Somalia
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Arts · Biography · Geography · History · Mathematics · Philosophy · Science · Society · Technology Somalia (Somali: Soomaaliya; Arabic: الصومال transliteration: aṣ-Ṣūmāl), officially the Somali Republic (Somali: Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliya, Arabic: جمهورية الصومال transliteration: Jumhūriyyat aṣ-Ṣūmāl) and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic, is located on the Horn of Africa in East Africa. It is bordered by Djibouti to the north-west, Kenya on its south-west, the Gulf of Aden on its north, the Indian Ocean at its east and Ethiopia to the west. The Somali state currently exists solely in a de jure capacity; Somalia has no recognized central government authority nor any other feature associated with an established independent state. De facto authority resides in the hands of the governments for the unrecognized entities of Somaliland and Puntland and the United Nations-recognized, interim Transitional Federal Government (TFG), which until recently controlled only Baidoa. Violence has plagued Mogadishu, the capital, since warlords ousted former President Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.
The Somali Youth League (SYL) was the first political party of Somalia. It played a key role in Somalia's road to independence during the 50's and 60's.  Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi (c.1506 - February 21, 1543) was an Imam and General of the Adal Sultanate. Nicknamed Gran (Gurey in Somali), which means "the left-handed", he is known for having defeated Ethiopian Emperor Lebna Dengel in battle. Ahmad, backed by the Ottoman Empire, subsequently embarked on a conquest which brought three-quarters of Christian Ethiopia under the power of the Islamic Adal from 1529-43, but his forces were pushed back by Portuguese intervention. 
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