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
South West State of Somalia South West State of Somalia The South West State of Somalia (), also known as the Interim South West Administration, is an autonomous region in southwestern Somalia. It was founded by Hasan Muhammad Nur Shatigadud, leader of the Rahanweyn Resistance Army (RRA) on 1 April 2002. After its dissolution in 2005, the territory was re-established in November 2009 as an official Federal Member State of Somalia. The territory was known as the Southwestern State of Somalia (SWS) (Somali: "Dowlad Goboleedka Koonfur-Galbeed ee Soomaaliya"), and intended to consist of six Somali administrative regions ("gobolka"): Bay, Bakool, Middle Juba ("Jubada Dhexe"), Lower