SOMOLIA

Somalia (/səˈmɑːliə, soʊ-, -ljə/; Arabic: الصومال‎‎ aṣ-Ṣūmāl), officially the Federal Republic of Somalia^] Ṣūmāl al-Fidirālīyah), is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, the Gulf of Aden to the north, the Indian Ocean to the east, and Kenya to the southwest. Somalia has the longest coastline on Africa's mainland,and its terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains and highlands. Climatically, hot conditions prevail year-round, with periodic monsoon winds and irregular rainfall.

Somalia has a population of around 10.8 million. Around 85% of its residents are ethnic Somalis, who have historically inhabited the northern part of the country. Ethnic minorities are largely concentrated in the southern regions. The official languages of Somalia are Somali and Arabic, both of which belong to the Afroasiatic family.Most people in the country are Muslim,^[with the majority being Sunni.

In antiquity, Somalia was an important commercial centre.   In the late 19th century, through a succession of treaties with these kingdoms, the British and Italian empires gained control of parts of the coast and established the colonies of British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland.

 (1855–1926) Italy acquired full control of the northeastern, central and southern parts of the area after successfully waging the so-called Campaign of the Sultanates against the ruling Majeerteen Sultanateand Sultanate of Hobyo. Italian occupation lasted until 1941, yielding to British military administration. British Somaliland would remain a protectorate, while Italian Somaliland in 1949 became a United Nations Trusteeship under Italian administration, the Trust Territory of Somaliland. In 1960, the two regions united to form the independent Somali Republic under a civilian government.

The Supreme Revolutionary Council seized power in 1969 and established the Somali Democratic Republic. Led by Mohamed Siad Barre, this government later collapsed in 1991 as the Somali Civil War broke out. Various armed factions began competing for influence in the power vacuum, particularly in the south. During this period, due to the absence of a central government, Somalia was a "failed state", and residents returned to customary and religious lawin most regions.  The early 2000s saw the creation of fledgling interim federal administrations. The Transitional National Government (TNG) was established in 2000, followed by the formation of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in 2004, which reestablished national institutions such as the military. In 2006, the TFG, assisted by Ethiopian troops, assumed control of most of the nation's southern conflict zones from the newly formed Islamic Courts Union (ICU). The ICU subsequently splintered into more radical groups such as Al-Shabaab, which battled the TFG and its AMISOM allies for control of the region.

By mid-2012, the insurgents had lost most of the territory that they had seized. In 2011–2012, a political process providing benchmarks for the establishment of permanent democratic institutions was launched. Within this administrative framework a new provisional constitution was passed in August 2012, which reformed Somalia as a federation. Following the end of the TFG's interim mandate the same month, the Federal Government of Somalia, the first permanent central government in the country since the start of the civil war, was formed and a period of reconstruction began in Mogadishu. Somalia has maintained an informal economy, mainly based on livestock, remittances from Somalis working abroad, and telecommunications.

Since 2012, when a new internationally-backed government was installed, Somalia has been inching towards stability, but the new authorities still face a challenge from Al-Qaeda-aligned Al-Shabab insurgents.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14094503

Regards

Mark R. Rienzie

Co D 75 Infantry LRRP

The Most Elite Fighting Force In The United States Army

5th Special Forces Recondo** - CERTIFIED

Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP)
VIETNAM 1969-1970   

Airborne / Ranger Team Leader

Staff Sargent (E6 11B4P)

38 Combat Missions and Never Lost a Man!!

Air Medal, National Defense, Vietnam Campaign, 
Combat Infantry Badge, etc.....

Discharge: Honorable

Cancer, Neuropathy from Agent Orange plus liver compromised, kidney questionable, spleen enlarged, low platelets etc....
PTSD confirmed!

Vietnam Veteran 1969-1970  Facebook
Cell: (516)313-3112 

ETHOPIA

Ethiopia (/ˌiːθiˈoʊpiə/; ), officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia ,is a sovereign state located in the Horn of Africa. It shares a border with Eritrea to the north and northeast, Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the south. With nearly 100 million inhabitants Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world, as well as the second-most populous nation on the African continent after Nigeria. It occupies a total area of 1,100,000 square kilometres (420,000 sq mi), and its capital and largest city is Addis Ababa.

Some of the oldest evidence for anatomically modern humans has been found in Ethiopia, which is widely considered the region from which modern humans first set out for the Middle East and places beyond. According to linguists, the first Afroasiatic-speaking populations settled in the Horn region during the ensuing Neolithic era.Tracing its roots to the 2nd millennium BC, Ethiopia was a monarchy for most of its history. During the first centuries AD, the Kingdom of Aksum maintained a unified civilization in the region,followed by the Ethiopian Empirecirca 1137.

Ethiopia derived prestige with its uniquely successful military resistance during the late 19th-century Scramble for Africa, becoming the only African country to defeat a European colonial power and retain its sovereignty. Subsequently, many African nations adopted the colors of Ethiopia's flag following their independence. It was the first independent African member of the 20th-century League of Nations and the United Nations. In 1974, at the end of Haile Selassie's reign, power fell to a communist military dictatorship known as the Derg, backed by the Soviet Union, until it was defeated by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, which has ruled since about the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Ethiopia is a multilingual nation with around 80 ethnolinguistic groups, the four largest of which are the Oromo, Amhara,Somali, and Tigrayans. Most people in the country speak Afroasiatic languages of the Cushitic or Semitic branches. Additionally, Omotic languages are spoken by ethnic minority groups inhabiting the southern regions. Nilo-Saharan languages are also spoken by the nation's Nilotic ethnic minorities.

Ethiopia is the place of origin for the coffee bean which originated from the place called Kefa (which was one of the 14 provinces in the old Ethiopian administration). It is a land of natural contrasts, with its vast fertile West, jungles, and numerous rivers, and the world's hottest settlement of Dallol in its north. The Ethiopian Highlands are Africa's largest continuous mountain ranges, and Sof Omar Caves contain Africa's largest cave. Ethiopia has the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Africa.

Ethiopia's ancient Ge'ez script, also known as Ethiopic, is one of the oldest alphabets still in use in the world. TheEthiopian calendar, which is approximately seven years and three months behind the Gregorian calendar, co-exists alongside the Borana calendar. A slight majority of the population adheres to Christianity (mainly the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and P'ent'ay), while around a third follows Islam (primarily Sunni Islam). The country is the site of the Migration to Abyssinia and the oldest Muslim settlement in Africa at Negash. A substantial population of Ethiopian Jews, known as Bete Israel, resided in Ethiopia until the 1980s, but most of them have since gradually emigrated to Israel.

Ethiopia is one of the founding members of the UN, the Group of 24 (G-24), the Non-Aligned Movement, G-77 and theOrganisation of African Unity. Ethiopia's capital city Addis Ababa serves as the headquarters of the African Union, thePan African Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, African Aviation Training HQ, the African Standby Force, and much of the global NGOs focused on Africa. In the 70's and 80's, Ethiopia suffered from civil wars and communist purges which devastated its economy. The country has begun to recover recently however, and now has the largest economy (by GDP) in East Africa and Central Africa. According to Global Fire Power, Ethiopia has the 42nd most powerful military in the world, and the third most powerful in Africa

Regards

Mark R. Rienzie

Co D 75 Infantry LRRP

The Most Elite Fighting Force In The United States Army

5th Special Forces Recondo** - CERTIFIED

Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP)
VIETNAM 1969-1970   

Airborne / Ranger Team Leader

Staff Sargent (E6 11B4P)

38 Combat Missions and Never Lost a Man!!

Air Medal, National Defense, Vietnam Campaign, 
Combat Infantry Badge, etc.....

Discharge: Honorable

Cancer, Neuropathy from Agent Orange plus liver compromised, kidney questionable, spleen enlarged, low platelets etc....
PTSD confirmed!

Vietnam Veteran 1969-1970  Facebook
Cell: (516)313-3112 

LIBIA

Libya (Arabic: ليبيا‎‎ Lībiyā; officially the State of Libya (Arabic: دولة ليبيا‎‎ Dāwlāt Lībiyā^[7][8]) is a country in the Maghrebregion of North Africa, bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast,Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west. The three traditional parts of the country are Tripolitania, Fezzan and Cyrenaica. With an area of almost 1.8 million square kilometres (700,000 sq mi), Libya is the fourth largest country in Africa, and is the 16th largest country in the world. Libya has the 10th-largest proven oil reserves of any country in the world.^[10]

The largest city and capital, Tripoli, is located in western Libya and contains over one million of Libya's six million people. The other large city is Benghazi, which is located in eastern Libya.

The Phoenicians established trading posts in western Libya, and Ancient Greek colonists established city-states in eastern Libya. Libya was variously ruled by Carthaginians,Persians, Egyptians and Greeks before becoming a part of the Roman Empire. Libya was an early center of Christianity. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the area of Libya was mostly occupied by the Vandals until the 7th century, when invasions brought Islam and Arab colonization. In the sixteenth century, the Spanish Empire and the Knights of St John occupied Tripoli, until Ottoman rule began in 1551. Libya was involved in the Barbary Wars of the 18th and 19th centuries. Ottoman rule continued until the Italian occupation of Libya resulted in the temporary Italian Libya colony from 1911 to 1943. During the Second World War Libya was an important area of warfare in the North African Campaign. The Italian population then went into decline. Libya became an independent kingdom in 1951.

A military coup in 1969 overthrew King Idris I, beginning a period of sweeping social reform. The most prominent coup figure, Muammar Gaddafi, was ultimately able to fully concentrate power in his own hands during the Libyan Cultural Revolution, remaining in power until the Libyan Civil War of 2011, in which the rebels were supported by NATO.Since then, Libya has experienced a period of instability. The European Union is involved in an operation to disrupthuman trafficking networks exploiting refugees fleeing from wars in Africa for Europe.

At least two political bodies claim to be the government of Libya. The Council of Deputies is internationally recognized as the legitimate government, but it does not hold territory in the capital, Tripoli, instead meeting in the Cyrenaica city of Tobruk. Meanwhile, the 2014 General National Congress purports to be the legal continuation of the General National Congress, elected in the 2012 Libyan General National Congress election and dissolved following the June 2014 elections but then reconvened by a minority of its members. The Supreme Court in the Libya Dawn and General National Congress-controlled Tripoli declared the Tobruk government unconstitutional in November 2014, but the internationally recognized government has rejected the ruling as made under threat of violence.  Parts of Libya are outside of either government's control, with various Islamist, rebel, and tribal militias administering some cities and areas. The United Nations is sponsoring peace talks between the Tobruk and Tripoli-based factions. An agreement to form a unified interim government was signed on 17 December 2015. Under the terms of the agreement, a nine-member Presidency Council and a seventeen-member interim Government of National Accord would be formed, with a view to holding new elections within two years. The leaders of the new government, called the Government of National Accord (GNA), arrived in Tripoli on April 5, 2016. Since then the GNC, one of the two rival governments, has disbanded to support the new GNA.

Regards

Mark R. Rienzie

Co D 75 Infantry LRRP

The Most Elite Fighting Force In The United States Army

5th Special Forces Recondo** - CERTIFIED

Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP)
VIETNAM 1969-1970   

Airborne / Ranger Team Leader

Staff Sargent (E6 11B4P)

38 Combat Missions and Never Lost a Man!!

Air Medal, National Defense, Vietnam Campaign, 
Combat Infantry Badge, etc.....

Discharge: Honorable

Cancer, Neuropathy from Agent Orange plus liver compromised, kidney questionable, spleen enlarged, low platelets etc....
PTSD confirmed!

Vietnam Veteran 1969-1970  Facebook
Cell: (516)313-3112 

SUDAN

Sudan (Arabic: السودان‎‎ as-Sūdān, English pronunciation (US) ⁱ/suˈdæn/, (GB) /suːˈdɑːn/), also known as North Sudan and officially the Republic of the Sudan‎‎ , is a country in northeastern Africa. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea, Eritrea, and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west and Libya to the northwest. It is the third largest country in Africa. The River Nile divides the country into eastern and western halves. Its predominant religion is Islam.

Sudan was home to numerous ancient civilizations, such as the Kingdom of Kush, Kerma, Nobatia, Alodia, Makuria,Meroë and others, most of which flourished along the Nile. During the pre-dynastic period Nubia and Nagadan Upper Egypt were identical, simultaneously evolved systems of pharaonic kingship by 3300 BC.^[17] By virtue of its proximity toEgypt, the Sudan participated in the wider history of the Near East inasmuch as it was Christianized by the 6th century, and Islamized in the 15th.

As a result of Christianization, the Old Nubian language stands as the oldest recorded Nilo-Saharan language (earliest records dating to the 9th century). Sudan was the largest country in Africa and the Arab world until 2011, when South Sudan separated into an independent country, following an independence referendum. Sudan is now the third largest country in Africa (after Algeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and also the third largest country in the Arab world (after Algeria and Saudi Arabia).

Sudan is a member of the United Nations, the African Union, the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperationand the Non-Aligned Movement, as well as an observer in the World Trade Organization. Its capital is Khartoum, the political, cultural and commercial centre of the nation. It is a presidential representative democratic federal republic. The politics of Sudan is regulated by a parliamentary organization called the National Assembly. The Sudanese legal system is based on Islamic law.

Regards

Mark R. Rienzie

Co D 75 Infantry LRRP

The Most Elite Fighting Force In The United States Army

5th Special Forces Recondo** - CERTIFIED

Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP)
VIETNAM 1969-1970   

Airborne / Ranger Team Leader

Staff Sargent (E6 11B4P)

38 Combat Missions and Never Lost a Man!!

Air Medal, National Defense, Vietnam Campaign, 
Combat Infantry Badge, etc.....

Discharge: Honorable

Cancer, Neuropathy from Agent Orange plus liver compromised, kidney questionable, spleen enlarged, low platelets etc....
PTSD confirmed!

Vietnam Veteran 1969-1970  Facebook
Cell: (516)313-3112