With one of the longest standing civil wars still ongoing, the internationally recognized government

With one of the longest standing civil wars still ongoing, the internationally recognized government of Somalia does not have very much control of the nation, not least of all reflected in the self-proclaimed Republic of Somaliland in northwest Somalia.  The modern Somalia was built from the colonial division of the land between the British (British Somaliland Protectorate, the region now claiming independence as the Republic of Somaliland) and the Italians (Italian Somaliland, originally and briefly called the Benadir Colony, then under UN trusteeship, administered by the Italians, for the 1950s), united in 1960 as the Somali Republic.  The unification has not fared well since then, after a Leninist coup in 1969 and the devolving control of any central government leading up the start of the Somali civil war in 1991.  In more recent years, there have been tentative forays into establishing some semblance of order and federal law, but the road to stability in Somalia remains arduous and not at all guaranteed.  [Obviously a very minor point in the greater human rights struggle, but the government of Somalia hasn’t issued a legitimate postage stamp since 2002, though the Universal Postal Union has recently stepped in to aid in reestablishing postal communications within and internationally.  Stay tuned….]Stamp details:Top left:Issued on: November 1, 1903From: Mogadishu, Italian Benadir ColonyMC #1Top middle:Issued in: 1904From: Hargeisa, British Somaliland ProtectorateMC #21Top right:Issued on: October 15, 1928From: Mogadishu, Italian SomalilandMC #118Second row left:Issued on: September 1, 1958From: Hargeisa, British Somaliland ProtectorateMC #134Second row right:Issued on: January 12, 1960From: Mogadishu, Trust Territory of SomalilandMC #368Third row left:Issued on: July 1, 1960From: Mogadishu, Somali RepublicMC #4Third row right:Issued on: April 22, 1970From: Mogadishu, Somali Democratic RepublicMC #159Fourth row:Issued on: July 2, 1991From: Mogadishu, Interim Government of the Republic of SomaliaMC #420Stamp on bottom:Issued on: December 16, 2002From: Mogadishu, Transitional National Government of the Republic of SomaliaMC #BL95Recognized as a sovereign state by the UN: Yes (since September 20, 1960)Official name: Federal Republic of Somalia; Jamhuuriyadda Federaalka Soomaaliya; جمهورية الصومال الفيدراليةMember of the Universal Postal Union: Yes (since April 1, 1959) -- source link

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