Somalia: Beileh returns to Somaliland months after leaving Treasury

HARGEISA, Somalia - After several years as the head of Somalia's Treasury, Abdirahman Duale Baileh returned to his ancestral home in the breakaway region of Somaliland, multiple sources confirmed, having asked for "permission" from authorities in Hargeisa, the regional administrative capital of the state.

Somaliland, a region that cut links with Somalia over three decades ago, has been prohibiting people from traveling to Mogadishu and even working there, forcing those opposed to the secession idea to permanently relocate from the region for fear of reprisals. Several people have been tormented for breaching the rule.

On Sunday, Beileh is said to have left Mogadishu for Hargeisa after he was granted permission by embattled regional President Muse Bihi Abdi. The former finance minister served as the defacto Treasury boss throughout the regime of Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, the immediate former president.

His exit triggered a social media storm with a number of people linking him to corrupt deals. According to security analyst Rashid Abdi, Beileh is the owner of Al-Jabal, a new high-end hotel within Hargeisa, where the former Minister is set to have an office where he will be doing consultancy. n

"Former Somalia Finance Minister Beileh returns to Somaliland. He is reported to be the owner of a swanky hotel in Hargeisa, Somaliland, called Al-Jabal, " he claimed in a tweet. "A version of Somali reunification elites are ok with, I guess, " added Abdi, who is on record for castigating people linked to graft.

His arrival in Hargeisa comes at a time the region has been experiencing turmoil at Las Anod city in the Sool region where over 145 people have been killed by Somaliland forces. The people of the Sool region are fighting to be administered from Mogadishu instead of Hargeisa, something which appeared provocative to Somaliland.

Somaliland has ber. running a parallel government for the last thirty years with her own executive, legislature, judiciary, and even the central bank. However, some people from the northern state have been getting appointments in the federal government of Somalia with some serving in the assembly representing the region.

The United States and other countries have been insisting on the single Somaliland policy even though Somaliland intensifies its push to be a sovereign nation. The government of Somalia has been calling for tolerance, asking the region to drop tough conditions and subscribe to the unity of the nation.

GAROWE ONLINE