ked
Ethiopia and establish commercial ties with regional states;
"Puntland" and "Somaliland" "governments" seek support from
neighboring states in their secessionist aspirations and in
conflicts with each other; Ethiopia has only an administrative line
with the Oromo region of southern Somalia and maintains alliances
with local Somali clans opposed to the unrecognized Somali Interim
Government, which plans eventual relocation from Kenya to Mogadishu;
rival militia and clan fighting in southern Somalia periodically
spills over into Kenya; most of the remaining 23,000 Somali refuges
in Ethiopia are expected to be repatriated in 2005

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
IDPs: 375,000 (civil war since 1988, clan-based competition for
resources) (2004)

This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005

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@South Africa

Introduction South Africa

Background:
After the British seized the Cape of Good Hope area in 1806, many
of the Dutch settlers (the Boers) trekked north to found their own
republics. The discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886) spurred
wealth and immigration and intensified the subjugation of the native
inhabitants. The Boers resisted British encroachments, but were
defeated in the Boer War (1899-1902). The resulting Union of South
Africa operated under a policy of apartheid - the separate
development of the races. The 1990s brought an end to apartheid
politically and ushered in black majority rule.

Geography South Africa

Location:
Southern Africa, at the southern tip of the continent of Africa

Geographic coordinates:
29 00 S, 24 00 E

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 1,219,912 sq km
land: 1,219,912 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes Prince Edward Islands (Marion Island and Prince
Edward Island)

Area - comparative:
slightly less than twice the size of Texas

Land boundaries:
total: 4,862 km
border countries: Botswana 1,840 km, Lesotho 909 km, Mozambique 491
km, Namibia 967 km, Swaziland 430 km, Zimbabwe 225 km

Coastline:
2,798 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin

Climate:
mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool
nights

Terrain:
vast inter