Friday October 23, 2026
Mogadishu (HOL) — Somali Defense Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi claimed Thursday that the federal government financed Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi Irro’s 2024 election campaign after he privately expressed willingness to negotiate with Mogadishu over Somali unity.
Speaking in Mogadishu, Fiqi said the government supported Irro because it believed he was more open to dialogue than his predecessors and willing to discuss new political arrangements between Somaliland and the federal government.
advertisements
“Irro was supported here and financed here. He was backed because he said he was more reasonable than those who came before him, that he was willing to discuss unity and that he was ready for us to agree on new conditions. The Somali government provided the funding,” Fiqi said.
The minister did not disclose how much money was allegedly provided, how it was transferred or which government institutions were involved.
His remarks amount to a public allegation by a senior Somali government official that Mogadishu financially supported a candidate in Somaliland’s 2024 presidential election.
The claim could not be independently verified, and there was no immediate response from Irro or his administration.
Fiqi expressed disappointment with Irro’s leadership following his election, particularly his decision to pursue diplomatic relations with Israel and seek international support for Somaliland’s recognition.
He criticized Somaliland’s engagement with Israel, arguing that Irro’s policies had departed from the expectations that prompted Mogadishu’s alleged support during the election campaign.
The defense minister also addressed the atrocities committed in Somaliland under Somalia’s former military government, acknowledging the suffering caused by the regime of Mohamed Siad Barre while arguing that the current federal leadership should not be held personally responsible for its actions.
“The suffering caused by the former military government cannot be buried, but we were not part of that government. Irro, Muse Bihi and Mohamed Ibrahim Egal were part of it, but neither I, Hassan Sheikh nor Hamza was part of it,” Fiqi said.
He maintained that historical grievances should be addressed through dialogue but rejected the idea that leaders who did not serve in the former military administration should bear personal responsibility for its actions.
Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 following the collapse of Barre’s government. The territory has since maintained its own government, security forces and electoral institutions, while Mogadishu continues to regard it as part of Somalia.
Relations between the two sides have remained strained over Somaliland’s independence campaign, control of territory and the conditions for any future political negotiations.
Fiqi’s remarks come amid renewed tensions over Somaliland’s diplomatic engagement with Israel and the continuing disagreement between Mogadishu and Hargeisa over the territory’s political status