Hargeisa, Somaliland – Outrage erupted in Somaliland after former leader Muse Bihi Abdi was prevented from accessing the airport, with blame directed at President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi Irro.
Bihi, en route to the UAE, was denied entry to the airport with his delegation and compelled to walk approximately one kilometer to the terminal to board his flight. This action was widely seen as a deliberate attempt by the current administration to incite unrest.
He had transferred power following his party’s electoral defeat to Irro a year earlier. Somaliland, which has operated a separate administration since 1991, has faced reconciliation efforts with Mogadishu.
Supporters of the former President staged demonstrations throughout Somaliland, denouncing the incident as humiliating. The government offered no immediate comment, occurring as the international community expresses strong interest in Somalia’s unity.
Analysts characterized the decision as a calculated humiliation, pointless, unwarranted, and without any constructive value.
Separately, a new rebel group has emerged in Somaliland, accusing the current leadership of escalating tensions and deliberately provoking instability.
The rebels stated their mobilization was prompted by what they termed the dehumanizing treatment of Somaliland’s former president, who was physically assaulted while attempting to enter Hargeisa airport for his planned journey to the UAE.
According to their statement, the former President was publicly humiliated, physically manhandled, and forced to walk nearly a kilometer to the airport, an action they say represents the administration’s growing repression of their community.
