Djibouti

Republic of Djibouti

The present day Republic of Djibouti (جمهورية جيبوتي) came under French control in the 1880s during the European "Scramble for Africa," at which time it was known as French Somaliland. The nation finally gained its independence from France in 1977. Djibouti was involved in a civil war between 1991 and 1994, when the Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy (FRUD) - an ethnic Afar rebel group - mounted a military operation against the government in response to a lack of Afar representation in government. The nation also clashed briefly with Eritrea over a border conflict in 1996, and again in 2008.

The Djibouti Armed Forces (Ciidanka Jabuuti) consist of several branches of service, including the National Army, Navy, Air Force, and the Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie Nationale Djiboutienne) In 2013, the Garde-côtes (Coast Guard) was formed, primarily to protect territorial waters from piracy.

Camouflage Patterns of Djibouti

• During the 1970s and 1980s, some personnel of the Djibouti National Army wore a copy of the French tenue de leópard or lizard pattern camouflage. The uniform was worn by a Parachute Company, and possibly other units.

• Since the 1990s, Djiboutian personnel from the Airborne Battalions and the Rapid Reaction Regiment (formerly the Rapid Intervention Battalion) have worn variations of the US six-color chocolate chip camouflage pattern. This design is also in use with other units, including an orange-dominant variation worn by personnel on African Union deployments.

• A copy of the US tricolor desert pattern is also worn by Djiboutian personnel, including those of the Rapid Intervention Battalion.

• Copies and variations of the m81 woodland pattern are also worn by various units of the armed forces.

• Significant use of French CE woodland has been made by the armed forces, since at least the late 1990s or early 2000s.

• Elements of the Marine Nationale Djiboutienne or Djiboutian Navy adopted a woodland camouflage pattern with a predominantly green or blue colorway, in service during the 1990s and early 2000s.

• Formed in 2013, personnel of the Garde-côtes (Coast Guard) wear a six-color camouflage pattern with grey colorway copied from those worn by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

• Some Djiboutian military personnel have adopted the Yemeni Republican Guards arid camouflage pattern, both the earlier organic and the later pixelated design. The uniforms seem to be overruns, as many have Velcro patches in the same position as the Yemeni version.

• Also documented in use by the Djiboutian Armed Forces is the Italian mimetico Vegetata deserto design, which has been in use since at least 2015.

• The Djiboutian Navy adopted a DPM variant design with a blue colorway around 2015, replacing the earlier woodland-derived patterns.

• The Garde Républicaine Djiboutienne has issued a number of camouflage patterns to its personnel, including the aforementioned copy of US tricolor desert, but also copies of Multicam, temperate MARPAT, and desert MARPAT.