Crossword Genius

A royal flag from the east African land (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

eritrea

'african land' is the definition.
(African country)

'a royal flag from the east' is the wordplay.
'royal' becomes 'er' (I've seen this in other clues).
'flag' becomes 'tire' (I've seen this before).
'from the east' says the letters should be written backwards.
'a'+'er'+'tire'='aertire'
'aertire' back-to-front is 'ERITREA'.

(Other definitions for eritrea that I've seen before include "It achieved independence from Ethiopia in 1993" , "State of northeast Africa" , "part of Africa" , "Province of Ethiopia on the Red Sea" , "River forming part of German-Polish border" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.