The Kingdom of Sahil

Sahil, officially the Kingdom of Sahil, is a nation located on the Northeast African peninsula known as the Horn of Africa along the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. The Sahilian nation is a very recent one, dating its founding back only to 1991 following the dissolution of the Somalian central government in that same year and the subsequent breaking off of Somaliland from the Somalian nation. Warmongering and civil war plagued this portion of Somalia’s history, and it was the warlord and profiteer General Ab Ul Hajadi who would go on to establish absolute rule in Somaliland, declaring the founding of the Kingdom of Sahil with himself as its king.

KSAF Mig-23L taking off from Sahilian Military Air Base

Originally perceived to be a rogue self-declared state, the Somalian government at first refused to acknowledge Sahilian separation and independence, but was unable to re-establish control over the territory in Somaliland due to widespread internal conflict and civil unrest. Despite receiving assistance from the international community, Somalia remained fractured, and by 1998 the new Somalian government officially relinquished control of the Somaliland territory to the Kingdom of Sahil. The international community subsequently followed this by recognizing the Kingdom of Sahil as an independent state in the Horn of Africa.

Three major players on the Horn of Africa. Orange is Djibouti, green is Boura Arrei, and red is the Kingdom of Sahil

The Kingdom of Sahil is bordered by Somalia to the east, Djibouti and Boura Arrei to the northwest, and Ethiopia to the south and west. Its territorial claim consists of a land area of approximately 176,000 square kilometers (68,000 sq mi), making it roughly the same size as Syria. Its capital and largest city is Hargeisa with a population of around 750,000 people in or around the city and a total population of around 2.2 million people.

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With few exceptions, Sahilian citizens are Muslims, the overwhelming majority of whom belong to the Sunni branch of Islam, although small traces of pre-Islamic religious traditions do still exist in some regions and among some villages. The Sahilian sense of identity is largely tied to one of two ethnic groups that trace their origins back to pre-Islamic tribes, those being the Dayaha and the Kulaasi. These ethnic differences have divided the population of Sahil into two social stratums, with the majority Dayaha being seen as “normal” while the minority lower-class Kulaasi are frequently regarded as second class citizens. It is common in the Kingdom of Sahil for ethnic Kulaasi citizens, despite their racial and religious similarities with ethnic Dayaha citizens, to be barred from working in certain businesses or attending certain educational and political institutions.

A significant amount of this money was spent by Ab Ul Hajadi on reforming and modernizing the nation’s armed forces which, until then, had consisted primarily of early Cold War Soviet arms and equipment leftover from Somalia. In typical dictatorial fashion, several million dollars went directly to King Hajadi and his personal friends, whom he had promoted to high political offices, in the form of kickbacks. Meanwhile, the majority of the Sahilian population lived in and continues to live in relative poverty with an estimated $437 of GDP per capita.

KSAF Armored Column moves through Bourra Arrei

The Sahilian government, under the absolute rule of King Ab Ul Hajadi, has used the ethnic tension in the nation to his advantage to cement his rule and establish power in areas of the country that attempt to resist his control. Hajadi, being an ethnic Dayaha himself, has openly commented that “The Kingdom of Sahil should be a home only to the Dayaha”, and that “The presence of Kulaasi in this country represents a severe risk to national security and stability”. In recent years, the physical violence between these two ethnic groups has escalated from beatings to mob lynchings, shootings, and car bombings. This violence is usually directed by organized Dayaha militias within the country due to a perceived mistrust and deep-seated hatred of their fellow Kulaasi citizens. This violence is often instigated by Hajadi and his government in the national media, who conveniently turn a blind eye to the Dayaha slayings of Kulaasi but immediately denounce any Kulaasi reprisals.

KSAF BMP-3's patrol a city street in Anizay

In 2013, following the military coup that fractured the independent island nation of the Republic of Duala and which saw the country at risk, the United States decided to intervene militarily by deploying the United States Marine Corps’ 15th MEU to establish stability on the island. This peacekeeping mission was known as “Operation Silver Lining” and it succeeded in pacifying the coup forces and bringing peace to the small island. In 2014, taking advantage of further devolvement of the situation in Somalia and its ongoing civil war, the Kingdom of Sahil quickly mobilized its armed forces and invaded the Republic of Duala virtually unopposed, conquering and annexing it in less than one week. Since then, the Sahilian government has been repurposing the island, dubbed Isla Duala, into a military strongpoint for its Air Force and Navy. Being the only island along the nation’s coast, it provides easy access to the Gulf of Aden and gives Sahil a strategic advantage in the Horn of Africa. Following this victory, King Ab Ul Hajadi declared his nation to now be an empire, with himself as its emperor, that will conquer its way to regional power and grow larger.