Somalia collapsed in 1991, its economy and state structures destroyed by dictator Siad Barre, a man with no legitimacy beyond his clan but who had for decades grifted first off Moscow and then Washington. He fled first to Kenya and then Nigeria, where he died in exile four years later.

As Somalia descended into state failure, one region stood aloof: Somaliland. Once independent, Somaliland recognized that its stability and security depended on its self-determination and so reasserted its independence.