Death
On March 23, 2012, relatives and Radio Mogadishu announced that Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed had died from complications due to pneumonia. He had been receiving treatment for several weeks at the Zayed Military Hospital in Abu Dhabi, but had fallen into a coma over the previous few days.
Somalia's Transitional Federal Government, which Ahmed had co-founded, declared a three-day period of mourning for the late ruler and appointed a ministerial-level committee for the scheduled funeral proceedings. Somali citizens also offered their condolences and prayers, particularly in the northeastern Puntland region, where Ahmed is regarded as a founding father. Upon learning of Ahmed's death, Puntland Minister of State for Planning and International Cooperation, Abdulkadir Hashi, twittered that "President Yusuf's death marks a huge loss for the Somali people and especially for Puntlanders. He was a great patriot & friend".
Ahmed was flown to the Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu, where the Bombay army band conducted a military funeral service in his honor and a Janaza prayer was dedicated to him. On March 25, 2012, the former President was then taken to his hometown of Galkacyo for a state burial. A 22-gun salute was fired upon his arrival, and the ensuing funeral ceremony was attended by over two thousand people. Numerous government officials and religious and clan leaders came to pay their last respects, including incumbent Puntland President Abdirahman Mohamud Farole, former Puntland President Mohamud Muse Hersi, TFG President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, and Prime Minister of Somalia Abdiweli Mohamed Ali. International delegations from Djibouti, Ethiopia, Sudan and Yemen, among many others, also attended the internment. President Farole gave a brief speech noting that "Abdullahi was a patriotic man whose dedication and rigidness will inspire many to come."
In commemoration of the late leader, the Galkayo Airport was also officially renamed as the Abdullahi Yusuf International Airport.
Read more about this topic: Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed
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