Possible Clues:

• Nation east of Sudan
• Key ceremony Americans initially holding in Republican state
• Independent African nation since 1993
• Exhaust having backfired, evident dropping back in African country
• ____ declared independence from Ethiopia in 1993
• Nation tearier after collapse?
• Withdrawal of flag with respect to a country
• Nation's technology about to feature in Time
• Flag raised by one reigning over a small African state
• English girl, about to enter African country