Somaliland

	Flag of Somaliland
Adopted	October 14, 1996
Designed by	(unknown)
Proportions	1:2

The flag of Somaliland consists of three horizontal, parallel and equal sections, the top section, which is coloured green and has inscribed in its midst in white in Arabic language أشهد أن لا إله إلاَّ الله و أشهد أن محمد رسول الله (La Ilaha Ill-Allah, Muhammadan Rasulullah, "There is no god except for Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of God); the middle section is white and has at its centre a black star; and the bottom section is coloured red.^[1]

Symbolism[]

The flag uses Pan-Arab colours. They recall a 13th-century poem by Ṣafī ad-Dīn al-Ḥilli that included the words: We are a people whose character refuses, for honour, to cause harm to those who do not harm us: white [pure] are our deeds, black are our battles, green are our fields, red [bloody] are our swords.

Official symbolism is as follows:

Green: Prosperity.
White: Peace.
Red: The blood of the fallen heroes of the liberation.
Shahadah (the phrase): Islam.
Black star: The demise of the dream of Greater Somalia.

History[]

Somaliland, located on the territory of the former British Somaliland, declared its independence on 18 May 1991, is still not recognised by any other country. Its first flag was a green disk upon white background with an Arabic inscription surrounding it ("There is no God but ALLAH and MOHAMMED is his messenger").

The current flag was adopted by the National Conference on October 14, 1996. It's described in the Article 7 of the Constitution of the Republic of Somaliland approved on May 31, 2001.