On Thursday, the Republic of Somaliland awarded a Medal of Honor to a diligent former Somali fighter pilot who, in 1988, refused to bomb Somaliland civilians.
Ex-Lieutenant Colonel Ahmed Mohamed Hassan was received by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Somaliland, Musa Bihi Abdi, at a banquet attended by parliamentary officials, government ministers, SNM veterans, including Colonels Ahmed Mirreh and Ibrahim Dhegaweyne, and the mayor of the capital Hargeisa.
Ahmed Mohamed (Ahmeddheere) declined in 1988 to bomb Hargeisa and kill innocent people. He sacrificed his life for the people of Somaliland,’ said the President, bestowing the honor. President said the honour came from a thankful public who gratefully remember the lives he saved.
A Somaliland diplomatic passport was also awarded to Colonel Ahmed Dheere, which grants him all the rights of a Somaliland-born citizen. “What happened was an incalculable human tragedy, “Colonel Ahmed said, recalling the difficult times in the 1980s that led him to escape the barbaric, inhuman commands of his army commanders and General Mohamed Siyad Barre, the man who commanded them.
The Speaker of the House of the Lower House of Parliament, the Honourable Bashe Mohamed Farah, spoke on the occasion, describing why the decision to desert the air force made by Colonel Ahmed at that time was doubly commendable.
“He said,” It was amazing that a man born in Wardhiigley (Mogadishu Burrough) could save Hargeisa. “The pilot-colonel chose to put his life at risk instead of bombing civilians from the air as ordered.”
Not only did Ahmed save civilians, he also saved his conscience and the responsibility he would save in the afterlife. Honorably, he survived by piloting a fighter pilot strafing the very town where it was located,’ Hon. Deputy House Speaker Ahmed-Yassin said.
