Siege of Saïo the Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini, proclaimed the colony of "Africa Orientale Italiana" (AOI, Italian East Africa), formed from Ethiopia (after the Italian victory in the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, fought 3 October 1935 – May 1936) and the existing Italian possessions of Italian Eritrea and Italian Somaliland. On 10 June 1940, Mussolini declared war on Britain and France, which made Italian military forces in Libya a threat to Egypt and those in Italian East Africa a danger to the British and French colonies in East Africa. Italian belligerence also closed the Mediterranean to Allied merchant ships and endangered British supply routes
Postage stamps and postal history of Italian East Africa enlarged to include all of Italian Eritrea and most of Italian Ethiopia when WW2 started. The most well known series of AOI stamps were those called "Pittoriche" issues in 1938 and 1939/1940. The "Buono Posta Aerea" of April 1941 is the only one showing the former British Somaliland annexed to A.O.I in a map of Italian East Africa. Postage stamps and postal history of Italian East Africa Postage stamps and postal history of Italian East Africa are related to the stamps and their history issued by the Kingdom of Italy between 1936 and 1941 for use in Italian East Africa,