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| Africa Horn |
| Somaliland seeks secession |
| 2010-07-03 |
| Meanwhile, the newly-elected president of Somaliland, Ahmed Mohamud Silaanyo, vowed Friday to campaign "vigorously" for international recognition of his breakaway republic in the Horn of Africa. "During my tenure as president I will vigorously fight for the recognition of Somaliland. The world must recognize our democracy," Silaanyo told AFP a day after the announcement of his election victory. "The first part of recognition of our independence is acquired as our people recognize themselves as a free country. What we are seeking is recognition by the outside world," he said in an interview. Silaanyo, a member of the dominant Issak clan, studied economics in Britain and served in the government of former Somali president Mohamed Siad Barre. A former British colony tacked on to Somalia when the latter gained independence from Italy in 1960, Somaliland has remained reasonably stable, spared the clan warfare that has dogged Somalia thanks to the domination of the Issaks. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Background on the Issaks. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2010-07-03 12:51 |