There are almost 200 official countries in the world. But there are dozens more breakaway states which are determined to be separate and independent.
The breakaway states have their own rulers, parliaments or warlords, and are home to millions of people, but they’re not officially recognised as proper countries by the rest of the world. Several have their own armies and police forces, and issue passports and even postage stamps which the rest of the world ignores. All of the breakaway states have declared independence after violent struggles with a neighbouring state.
Some now survive peacefully, but others are a magnet for terrorists and weapons smuggling, and have armies ready for a fight. Several could be at the centre of future wars which threaten their regions and the wider world.
In a world of easy adventure tourism, Simon visits breakaway states & unrecognized nations which don’t usually feature on the tourist trail: Somaliland, Transniestria, South Ossetia, Taiwan, Abkhazia, Ajaria and Nagorno-Karabkh.
November 28, 2010 at 1:39 am | InedibleHulk
Whoa. Ajarian ammo dumps are a great place to have a picnic. Or raise groundhogs. Or “borrow” tons of explosives for whatever you want, apparently. I guess the only safeguard they have is the unstable state of the bombs themselves. Which isn’t that bad a deterrent, actually. Anyway, crazy to see that. And interesting show, overall. I’d like to see more episodes uploaded, please.
February 18, 2011 at 4:06 am | Andre Bordeleau
Not really sure when this first came out but this is so scary to think that all that “ammo” is just sitting there waiting to either …blow up on it’s on OR some poor kids go and play there and… and yes you guessed it some crazy warlord will drop by and pay a handsome price (probably peanuts judging by the wealth present area) for some gear to further there warped cause. notice that the U.N is there, the U.S and U.K forces all having fun training in the “art ” of war. somehow they have “funds” for that,but none for defusing all that ammunition. time bomb waiting to go off,really sad.
please say a little prayer tonight…
February 20, 2011 at 6:47 pm | James
I found this to be very interesting. I would recommend it
February 25, 2011 at 7:01 am | Mary
BBC is the best thing since sliced bread
April 1, 2012 at 4:24 pm | Laura
What a crazy world we live in. Very entertaining doc. Simon Reeve is alot braver than I am!
There’s gotta be oil in these places, or Americans and Brits wouldn’t be poking their noses in.