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  Ethiopia-Somaliland Deal: Somaliland’s Pathway to International Recognition Dr. Mohamed Farah Hesi Academy for Peace and Development     Introduction of the Article Pathway to International Recognition" discusses a landmark MoU signed between Ethiopia and Somaliland on January 1, 2024. The memorandum allows Ethiopia to access the sea by leasing 20 kilometers from Somaliland while, in return, designating that it will recognize Somaliland and give the country a stake in Ethiopian Airlines. This development has far-reaching implications for the geopolitics of the Horn of Africa and changes the course of Ethiopia's foreign policy toward Somalia. It marked a turning point for both Ethiopia and Somaliland. For Ethiopia, it is supposed to presage the fulfillment of its long-cherished strategic goal of gaining access to the sea. In formally recognizing Somaliland, Ethiopia gives word of a new hierarchy of foreign policy preoccupations in which its own interests and those ...

By: Yusuf Habiib Hussien  The Fractured Union: Setting a Historical Context The story of Somaliland and Somalia falls within the general context of colonialism in the Horn of Africa. Somaliland, formerly a protectorate of the British, and Somalia, formerly under Italian rule, united under high hopes in 1960 as one Somali Republic. That union, in fact, was actually laid on very weak foundations. Soon, sharp differences along the political, social, and economic dimensions between the two regions began to emerge, with tensions rising. Somaliland was the peripheral power in this union, and through that came growing disgruntlement. The further desolation under the ruthless rule of Siad Barre worsened, conditions - his forces totally cracked down on northern Somaliland. Horrific violence characterizing the 1980s included the Bombing of Somaliland's capital Hargeisa by the forces of Barre. This gruesome act increased the urge of Somaliland for independence, and so after the fall of Barr...

By: Yusuf Habiib Hussein (Seer) In  the  regions  of  the  Horn  of  Africa ,  toward the close of the 20th century, evolved one such saga of resilience and gallantry that gave birth to a nation called Somaliland. Many independence movements arose through people who wanted freedom through negotiation or gradual political reform. The sovereignty struggle for Somaliland was hammered out on the anvil of armed struggle, led by the Somali National Movement (SNM), braced with the unbending will of its people. Courage of the SNM: The SNM was founded in 1981 as the vanguard of the then-struggle against the naked dictatorship of Siad Barre's regime in Somalia. The regime, rather infamous for its ruthless quelling of dissent and general marginalization of the northern regions, had specially reserved its repressive machinery for the Isaaq clan, which represented the SNM's backbone. Members of the movement included former military officers, intellectuals, a...