On May 18, 1991, the self-styled Somaliland Republic was established in what had been the northern regions of Somalia, following the collapse of the Somali state in early 1991. No foreign government recognizes it; but independent it is. The proclamation of statehood is based on strong majority opinion in the north, which holds that after more than 20 years of brutal rule by the Siyad Barre regime and three years of state-sponsored mayhem and violence, the north would continue to be victimized by a Mogadishu-based government dominated by the southern warlords.

On June 26, 1960, British Somaliland attained independence and Italian-ruled U.N. trust territory of Somalia on July 1, 1960. On that date, following a temporary alliance among the principal Somali clans under the stimulation of European interference, the two Somali territories united to form the Republic of Somalia. That fragile nation precariously occupied the eastern Horn of Africa until January1991 when the Somali state collapsed, following a brutal civil war. This led to the ouster of the Siad Barre regime that led Somalia for 20 years. Meanwhile, the southern regions of what used to be Somalia remain stateless and war-torn.

information from http://www.anaserve.com/~mbali, Somaliland Cyberspace.