1.   The country was carved out of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of World War I.

2.   The victors carved the country into fiefdoms run by warlords to whom the president, Imom Rakhmanov now owes his power.

3.   Faction leaders have carved the country into fiefdoms, each with its own militia.

4.   Somalia has since been without a central government and faction leaders have carved the country into militia-protected fiefdoms.

5.   Warlords have since carved the country into fiefdoms protected by their own militia.

6.   The four-year war in the DRC has carved the country into three areas controlled respectively by Kinshasa, the MLC and the RCD.