Photo Essay: Portrait of a Failed State

Somalia's tattered landscape is a window into the country's troubled past.

Unstable foundations: Somalia’s landscape is a graveyard of memories — its Italianate architecture, bullet-shattered walls, and crumbling infrastructure all souvenirs of failed foreign interventions. From Italian colonial expeditions, to Cold War meddling, to a recent Ethiopian occupation, international escapades have been a staple of Somalia’s last century.

Photo: JOSE CENDON/GETTY IMAGES

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