Somalia Channel and Indian Ocean to the east, and Ethiopia to the west. It lies between latitudes 2°S and 12°N, and longitudes 41° and 52°E. Strategically located at the mouth of the Bab el Mandeb gateway to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, the country occupies the tip of a region that, due to its resemblance on the map to a rhinoceros' horn, is commonly referred to as the Horn of Africa. Somalia has the longest coastline on the mainland of Africa, with a seaboard that stretches . Its terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains and highlands. The nation has
2009 timeline of the War in Somalia 2009 timeline of the War in Somalia The 2009 timeline of events in the War in Somalia (2006–2009) during January 2009 is set out below. From the beginning of February the timeline of events in the War in Somalia (2009–present) is set out following the conclusion of the previous phase of the civil war. In Afgoi District eighteen miles south of Mogadishu a Somali journalist covering fighting between al-Shabaab members and a moderate Islamist group was shot and killed in the cross-fire of a vicious firefight. No other casualties are known. A Transitional Federal Government parliamentarian was assassinated in Baidoa