Somalia Civil War - Somaliland
The northern based SNM declared unilateral independence for Somaliland in May 1991, based on the former British Somaliland borders. The secessionists disassociated Somaliland from the south, and argued that independence was based on atrocities inflicted by the region by the previous system. Somaliland includes the administrative regions of Awdal, Woqooyi Galbeed, Togdheer, Sanaag, and Sool. Those 5 regions comprise 18 of the regions of Somalia. The northwest continued to proclaim its independence within the borders of former British Somaliland, which had obtained independence from Britain in 1960 before joining the former Italian-ruled Somalia. The "Republic of Somaliland" has sought international recognition since 1991. Somaliland's government includes a parliament and functioning civil court system. Only in Somaliland, under "President" Mohammed Egal, was there a functioning legal system, based on the 1962 Penal Code. The current system replaced Islamic law and included a supreme court. Although not recognized by any government, this entity has maintained a stable existence, aided by the overwhelming dominance of a ruling clan and economic infrastructure left behind by British, Russian, and American military assistance programs.
Although not on the scale of the south, Somaliland also experienced inter-clan killings and destruction as the newly "independent" administration tried to establish itself - first under Abdirahman Tur, and then under former Prime Minister Muhammad Ibrahim Egal, who was elected to office by clan elders in Boroma in 1993, and again in 1997.
