Horn of Africa Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (, , , , ) (shortened to HOA; alternatively Somali Peninsula) is a peninsula in Northeast Africa. It juts hundreds of kilometers into the Arabian Sea and lies along the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. The area is the easternmost projection of the African continent. Referred to in ancient and medieval times as "Land of the Berbers" and "Habesha", the Horn of Africa denotes the region containing the countries of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia. It covers approximately 2,000,000 km (770,000 sq mi) and is inhabited by roughly 115 million people
2009 timeline of the War in Somalia Insurgents fired mortars at the presidential palace in Mogadishu to which government forces retaliated with their own mortar fire which killed five civilians. Also, in fighting in the Wardigley district another nine civilians were killed. Fighting between Al Shabaab forces and a government backed militia in the Lower Shabelle region of KM60 resulted in the deaths of 7 Somali militiamen and 2 Al Shabaab insurgents and the capture of at least 100 militiamen as prisoners. In Bardhere Town SW Somalia an explosion killed 4 Somali militiamen including a commander and killed 2 civilians and injured two civilians. Abdirahaman Xaji Mohamed