This East African nation is known for stability. But drought and rising prices are fueling insecurity that has led to a wave of unrest.
Somaliland is a tiny state tucked along the Horn of Africa between Somalia and Ethiopia.
It has no army, or police, or military aircraft or military bases.
Yet an armed group called al Shabaab has been operating from its territory since 2006 and is now fighting to topple the government.
And Somaliland’s president, Abdirahman Farole, is accused of corruption and is being threatened by Islamist militia.
Somaliland is not a country in its own right. But it is an important link in a global effort to fight Islamic State (IS).
And in the past few days, it has become an increasingly tense frontline in that war.
The fighting has already broken out in the southern part of the country, in the village of Awali, close to Kenya’s border.
It has also spread to the Horn of Africa, where al Shabaab has launched attacks on Kenyan forces.
The fighting is a challenge to peace in Somalia, and an embarrassment to the West.
But it has also become a test for the Somali government and the region.
We visited Somaliland to find out how it is dealing with the threat from Islamist extremists, and how far it is prepared to go to protect its people from conflict and violence.
Somali crisis
Somalia has been mired in violence since the mid-1990s.
The country has one of the world’s largest armed forces, but its troops have found it hard to maintain order in the long months of peace following the overthrow of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.
The country has been a key link in the US-backed anti-IS campaign in Iraq and Syria.
But this year, the Somali government has been plagued by its own problems.
Many of its politicians are accused of being too corrupt and are threatened with the imprisonment of their families should they lose power.
In some areas, IS and al Shabaab are now fighting to take control of local power structures.
And there is a growing sense of fear, and insecurity, across the country.
Aboriginal conflict
In the Horn of Africa, al Shabaab has come under attack from African countries, such as Kenya and Uganda.