Somaliland: Somaliland wants to secede — will it be Africa’s 55th country?
Woman waves flag during celebrations of the 25th anniversary of Somaliland’s declaration of independence in the capital, Hargeisa on May 18, 2016.
Despite the declaration, Somaliland is still considered an autonomous region of Somalia by the United Nations. But President Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud Silanyo is pushing hard for recognition of full sovereignty.
Somaliland President Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo recently claimed that more than one million citizens, out of the country’s population of 3.4 million, had signed a petition calling for the international community to recognise Somaliland.
Since 1991, and the collapse of the Siad Barre regime in Somalia, the region has declared itself independent. But should it? The examples of the secession of South Sudan and Eritrea raise serious questions and doubts about the outcomes of breakaway states.