Somalia Control Map & Timeline - October 2020 (Subscription)

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There are newer versions of this map available. To see them, view all Somalia articles on PolGeoNow.

Map by onestopmap.com, Evan Centanni, and Djordje Djukic

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In the last five months, Somalia's federal government and its allies have made modest gains against Al Shabaab, capturing the first district capital in two years. Meanwhile Galmudug state, under new leadership, has become increasingly integrated with the federal-aligned military coalition.

See all this and more on the latest update to PolGeoNow's concise, professional Somalia control map, which includes a timeline of territorial changes and key events since our previous Somalia map report of May 2020, with sources cited.

This map and report are premium content, available to paid subscribers of the PolGeoNow Conflict Mapping Service.

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Exclusive map report includes:

• Up-to-date illustration of current territorial control in Somalia, color-coded for the federal government coalition (including AMISOM peacekeepers), autonomous unionist forces, separatist Somaliland, Al Qaeda affiliate Al Shabaab, and fighters aligned with the so-called "Islamic State" (IS; formerly ISIS/ISIL). Areas of mixed or unclear control indicated separately. Colorblind accessible.
• Boundaries and labels for Somalia's official regions and states, including the self-proclaimed independent Republic of Somaliland and federal states Puntland, Galmudug, Jubaland, South West, and Hirshabelle. Illustrates the claims of both sides in the Somaliland-Puntland border dispute, as well as actual control.
  
• Detailed indication of city-by-city control, including many relevant smaller towns and villages.
• Locations of recent fighting and other important events, including Kurtunwarey, Gendershe, Daynunay, Mubarak, Bulacle, and more.
• Detailed timeline of territorial control changes and key political developments since May 20, 2020, with sources cited. 
• Summary of the conflict situation and changes to the map over the past five months.

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New Caledonia Turns Down Independence Again

This is a follow-up to our article on New Caledonia's 2020 referendum on independence from France. For more on New Caledonia's current status and what would have happened if the vote had passed, see that article.

The islands of New Caledonia, and their location in the South Pacific. Map by NormanEinstein (CC BY-SA; source)

The results are in for Sunday's independence referendum in New Caledonia and, as in 2018, the majority has voted against seceding from France.

However, the proportion of YES and NO votes wasn't the same as two years ago: Support for independence rose from 43% in 2018 to 47% this time, suggesting that more residents than ever before want an independent country for their island home. Voter turnout was also even higher than last time, rising from 81% to 85%.

So what happens next? Well, for now New Caledonia will keep its current status as an autonomous region of France. But the islands could still become independent in the coming years.

New Caledonia Voting on Independence from France: Round Two

Update: For the results of the election, check out our follow up article!

This is an updated version of an article published in November 2018 for that year's independence referendum. It has been revised to address the October 2020 vote, which is a direct follow-up to the one two years ago.

The islands of New Caledonia, and their location in the South Pacific. Map by NormanEinstein (CC BY-SA; source)

Today the South Pacific islands of New Caledonia will vote - again - on whether to declare independence, after a 2018 vote supported remaining part of France.

This referendum and the previous one are the culmination of a 20-year process set in motion by the Nouméa Accord of 1998, when the French government agreed to gradually transfer power to the islands' own institutions.

See Also: Results of the 2018 New Caledonia Independence Vote

New Caledonia is one of two places in the Melanesia region to vote on independence lately, after Bougainville chose independence from Papua New Guinea last December (though it's still uncertain if Bougainville will really become independent).

Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) Control Map & Timeline - October 2, 2020

There are newer versions of this map available. To see them, view all Nagorno-Karabakh articles on PolGeoNow.

This is the first edition of our new Nagorno-Karabakh control map series, which we hope to further improve in the near future if the conflict continues. To guarantee your access to future updates, sign up our conflict map subscription service.

Map by Evan Centanni and Djordje Djukic, starting from this map by Bourrichon and Lesqual. License: CC BY-SA

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Article by Djordje Djukic and Evan Centanni

Armenia and Azerbaijan Go to War

One of the former Soviet Union's "frozen conflicts" has suddenly lurched towards meltdown. The dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region in the Caucasus - involving Azerbaijan and Armenia plus the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh - has been simmering for decades, with regular border clashes since a full-scale war ended in 1994. But last weekend it launched into its biggest flare-up yet.

Ukraine War Control Map & Report: September 2020

To see other maps in this series, plus a new map of Russian control in the 2022 invasion, view all Ukraine articles on PolGeoNow.

Map by Evan Centanni and Djordje Djukic. Contact us for permission to use this map.

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Timeline by Djordje Djukic, with additional reporting by Evan Centanni

Donbass Frontline Map

In the four years since PolGeoNow last updated our Ukraine control map, little has changed in terms of territorial boundaries in the region of eastern Europe known as the Donbass. Forces of the Russia-backed self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) still hold a large chunk of what most of the world considers Ukraine, though their plans of formally uniting into a confederation of "Novorossiya" ("New Russia") have long gone by the wayside. But as attempts at resolving the conflict peacefully grind slowly forward, fighting has continued at a low level along the frontlines, and we have made some small changes to the map where the situation has either changed or been clarified since 2016.