country named for the indigenous Somali people, whose name (attested in English by 1814) is of unknown origin.
Republic in extreme eastern Africa, directly south of the Arabian Peninsula across the Gulf of Aden, bordered by Ethiopia and Kenya to the west. Mogadishu is the capital and largest city.
Note: Britain, France, and Italy established protectorates in the area in the late 1880s. Somalia gained independence in 1960.
Note: Civil war and famine have recently ravaged the country. In 1992, the United States embarked on a humanitarian intervention designed to ensure delivery of food supplies to the population. After American troops were drawn into a conflict between local warlords and suffered casualties, the United States withdrew from Somalia in 1994. The country currently lacks any central government.