Somalia Supplement: Did Puntland Declare Independence?

This article is a supplement to PolGeoNow’s series of professional reports on territorial control in Somalia’s decades-long civil war. For more context, see that report series. However, this article is written to be accessible to general audiences.

Puntland's Not-quite "Declaration of Independence" 

Part of PolGeoNow's 2024 Somalia control map, showing Puntland state and surroundings. Click on the image to see the full map, complete with detailed legend (free for all readers). The larger blue area on the right represents land solidly controlled by Puntland, while the state's official claimed borders are marked by the dotted while line through Mudug region in the south, and by the left-hand side of the western zone labeled "Area claimed by both Somaliland and Puntland".

As Somalia’s original self-governing state – founded in the chaos of the 1990s before today's Somali federal government even existed – Puntland is in many ways the equivalent of an independent country. Somalia’s federal military has rarely been allowed to operate there, the federal government has little influence over the selection of state or local Puntland officials, and the state government tends to pick and choose to what degree it participates in the federal system. However, unlike neighboring Somaliland, which declared independence in 1991, Puntland has insisted since its founding that it's part of Somalia.

It caught the attention of political geography enthusiasts, then, when in March 2024, Puntland’s government was quoted as saying that it would begin operating with the “full powers of an independent state”. This came amid a dispute over constitutional reforms in Somalia's federal government – a government whose legitimacy Puntland said it no longer recognized. And it’s followed through in practice, refusing to even attend political talks on Somalia’s political future in the year since, continuing its own international relations with countries like the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and fighting a successful war against an important branch of the so-called “Islamic State” (ISIS/ISIL) all on its own (except for some air support from the UAE and US).

Somalia Supplement: Is there an Al Shabaab presence in SSC-Khatumo?

This article is a supplement to PolGeoNow’s series of professional reports on territorial control in Somalia’s decades-long civil war. Reading it should require minimal prior knowledge, but for much more background, see our August 2023 and June 2024 Somalia reports.

Part of PolGeoNow's 2024 Somalia control map, showing areas of control and influence by SSC-Khatumo as the smaller area of blue on the left, and areas solidly controlled by Somaliland in green. Click on the image to see the full map, complete with detailed legend (free for all readers). Areas of known Al Shabaab presence are shown in the north, outside SSC-Khatumo's are of influence.

In 2023, militias in the northern area of Somalia’s claimed territory rose up in rebellion against the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, which has claimed since 1991 to be a separate country from Somalia. These militias and their supporters are trying to instead join Somalia as one of its federal states, which they call “SSC-Khatumo” (SSC-Khaatumo in Somali). The “SSC” stands for the three regions they claim governance over: Sool, Sanaag, and “Ayn” (spelled Cayn in Somali, though to most English speakers the C sounds silent).

As part of Somaliland’s opposition to SSC-Khatumo, various allegations have been made that the insurrectionists are linked to Al Shabaab, the Al Qaeda affiliated organization that governs much of rural southern Somalia. These clams have been largely ignored outside of Somaliland, but we’re still sometimes asked why our maps don’t appear to take them into account. To address this, we’ve written up this article to explain in detail what’s going on, what we know about it, and what the reasoning is behind our mapping of the situation.

Syria: Map of Control in January 2025 (Subscription)

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

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A month after the fall of Assad, much is still unresolved. Russian bases remain along the coast, and Kurdish-led forces operate their own government in the east, where their war with Turkish-backed former rebels continues after a failed ceasefire. 

Meanwhile, Israel has further expanded its control in the southwest, while the so-called "Islamic State" (ISIS/ISIL) reportedly grows in power, and Suwayda province is controlled by Druze militias with an unclear stance towards the new rebel-installed national government.

See all this and more on the latest update to PolGeoNow's concise, professional Syrian Civil War control map, which includes a timeline of key events since our previous Syria map report illustrating the situation on December 14, with sources cited.

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

Want to see before you subscribe? Check out our most recent FREE SAMPLE Syria map!

Exclusive map report includes:

• Up-to-date illustration of current territorial control in Syria, color-coded for the victorious rebel coalition, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), resurgent forces of the so-called "Islamic State" (ISIS/ISIL), the Israeli military (IDF), and other non-rebel-allied forces like the Russian military and Druze militias.
  
• Pattern showing the major areas of "Islamic State" (ISIS/ISIL) activity beyond what the group fully controls.
  
• Special symbol for joint Turkish/rebel control and in the border region
• Outline showing approximate location of the US-declared "deconfliction zone"
• Special symbols indicating which towns and cities are under the rebel bloc led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) - formerly the Al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front - and by the Kurdish YPG militia (part of the SDF anti-"Islamic State" coalition)
• Detailed indication of city-by-city control, including key towns and other locations important to current events
• Locations of recent control changes and other important events, including Dayr Hafir, the Tishrin Dam, Suwayda, Hmeimim (Khmeimim) airbase, Russia's Tartus naval base, and more
• Detailed timeline of important events and changes to territorial control since December 14, 2024, with links to sources.

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How Many Countries Are There in the World in 2025?

This article, originally from 2011, has been revised and updated to January 2025. You can view older versions of the article in our archives. No changes have been made to the country counts in this article since last year's update.

A world political map published by the US government.

One of the most basic questions for map-lovers is "How many countries are there in the world?" But anyone who just gives you a simple number isn't telling the whole truth. It actually depends a lot on how you define a "country". Here are six of the most common answers, each correct in its own way:

Syria: Map of Control After the Fall of Assad - Dec. 14, 2024 (Subscription)

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Research by Djordje Djukic, with additional reporting by Evan Centanni. Map by onestopmap.com, Evan Centanni, and Djordje Djukic

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As the Syrian government collapsed, rebel forces spread out to assert themselves as the new authorities across most of the country, though much remains to be settled. Turkish-backed rebels jockeyed with the Kurdish-led SDF for control of the north and east, while Israel sent troops towards Damascus and the so-called "Islamic State" (ISIS/ISIL) attempted a resurgence in the central desert.

See all this and more on the latest update to PolGeoNow's concise, professional Syrian Civil War control map, which includes a timeline of key events since our previous Syria map report illustrating the situation eight days earlier, with sources cited.

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

Want to see before you subscribe? Check out our most recent FREE SAMPLE Syria map!

Exclusive map report includes:

• Up-to-date illustration of current territorial control in Syria, color-coded for the victorious rebel coalition, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), resurgent forces of the so-called "Islamic State" (ISIS/ISIL), the Israeli military, and the two remaining Russian military bases in the country.
• Pattern showing the major areas of "Islamic State" (ISIS/ISIL) activity beyond what the group fully controls.
  
• Special symbol for joint Turkish/rebel control and in the border region
• Outline showing approximate location of the US-declared "deconfliction zone"
• Special symbols indicating towns dominated by the rebels of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) - formerly the Al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front - and by the Kurdish YPG militia (part of the SDF anti-"Islamic State" coalition)
• Detailed indication of city-by-city control, including key towns and other locations important to current events
• Locations of recent control changes and other important events, including Manbij, Tanf, Al Kawm, Hmeimim (Khmeimim) airbase, Russia's Tartus naval base, Al-Ba'ath, and more
• Detailed timeline of important events and changes to territorial control since December 6, 2024, with links to sources.

SUBSCRIBERS CLICK HERE TO VIEW FULL ARTICLE AND MAP:
Old Portal (members.polgeonow.com) | New Portal (controlmaps.polgeonow.com)

Not signed up yet? Click here to learn more about our professional subscription service!

Can I purchase just this map?
This map and report are not available for automated purchase to non-subscribers. If you need access or republication rights for only this map report, contact service@polgeonow.com for options.