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 killed and ten combatants wounded. Al Shabaab is getting a hold of the situation. Fighting between two clans in Central Somalia killed five civilians in each clash. Tribal elders had earlier tried to end hostilities between both sides and it unknown why the fighting began. Fighting in Central Somalia has left four people dead after government-allied Sufi militiamen took over a community from Al Shabaab forces. A roadside bomb was detonated by an AU convoy in the capital of Somalia killing three civilians and injuring a Ugandan AU peacekeeper. Peacekeepers then opened fire onto several buses filled with Somali's killing