Somaliland, officially the State of Somaliland, was a short-lived independent country in the territory of the present-day unilaterally declared Republic of Somaliland, which regards itself as its legal successor. It existed on the territory of former British Somaliland for five days between 26 June 1960 and 1 July 1960, when it merged with the formerly Italian administered Trust Territory of Somaliland to form the Somali Republic.
Somaliland flying the Somali Flag at the Independence ceremony on 26 June 1960. The then Prime Minister of the State of Somaliland Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal salutes the flag.
Members of the Legislative Assembly elected in February 1960
Image: Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal 1968
Somaliland, officially the Republic of Somaliland, is an unrecognised country in the Horn of Africa, recognised internationally as de jure part of Somalia. It is located in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden and bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, Ethiopia to the south and west, and Somalia to the east. Its claimed territory has an area of 176,120 square kilometres (68,000 sq mi), with approximately 6.2 million residents as of 2024. The capital and largest city is Hargeisa. The Government of Somaliland regards itself as the successor state to British Somaliland, which, as the briefly independent State of Somaliland, united from 1960 to 1991 with the Trust Territory of Somaliland to form the Somali Republic.
Wild animals depicted in the caves of Dhaymoole, many of which have gone extinct in the region
The tomb of Sheikh Isaaq, the founding father of the Isaaq clan, in Maydh, Sanaag
A 15th-century French artist's rendering of a battle between troops of the Sultan of Adal (right) and King Yagbea-Sion and his men (left). From Le livre des Merveilles.
The Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera covering the start of the British Somaliland offensive
