Ahmed Mohamed Hassan (Ahmed Dheere), the pilot who refused to bomb Hargeisa

In short

Ahmed Mohamed Hassan was a fighter pilot in the Somali Air Force during the war in the north in 1988. This page records what the sources report about his refusal to bomb Hargeisa and what followed. The wider events are covered in The Isaaq genocide, 1987–1989 and Somali National Movement (SNM), 1981–1991.

The order, 1988

Wikipedia records that he was born on 1 April 1953, joined the air force in the early 1970s and rose to lieutenant colonel (Wikipedia, Ahmed Mohamed Hassan (pilot)). In late May 1988 the SNM attacked in the north and by early June had taken most of Hargeisa; government forces, pulled back to the airport and outskirts, "were ordered to begin the indiscriminate bombardment of the city." He faced a choice: "join other pilots in bombing the city or refuse and face the prospect of being shot" (Somaliland Chronicle, from BBC Witness History, 21 June 2023).

Reuters reported that on 13 July 1988 he was ordered to bomb Hargeisa, refused, and dropped his bombs on bare mountains near the city. "I had already made up my mind never to drop the bombs," he said. He then came down on a beach in Djibouti after running out of fuel and gave himself up to the authorities. Somalia asked for him to be sent back, but he was given asylum (Reuters, 27 June 2008, reposted by Isweydii). Wikipedia records that he switched off his radio, flew his MiG-17 to Djibouti, and moved to Luxembourg with his family in 1990 (Wikipedia).

Return and honours

In June 2008 he returned to Hargeisa for the first time, as a guest of honour at the 26 June celebrations, and peace activists gave him a certificate of appreciation. "I am glad I did not drop those bombs here," he said (Reuters, 2008).

On 29 October 2020 Somaliland's president, Muse Bihi Abdi, presented him with a Medal of Honor and a Somaliland diplomatic passport at a banquet attended by ministers and SNM veterans. Bihi said: "He sacrificed his life for the people of Somaliland." The Speaker of the House, Bashe Mohamed Farah, said it was "amazing that a man born in Wardhiigley (Mogadishu Burrough) could save Hargeisa" (Somaliland Presidency, 30 October 2020).

Sources differ

• Date of the refusal. 12 July 1988 (Wikipedia); 13 July 1988 (Reuters).
• His bombs. Dropped on mountains near Hargeisa (Reuters); Wikipedia does not mention them.
• His name. Reuters in 2008 called him Abdi Mohamed Hassan; other sources give Ahmed.
• Birthplace. Mogadishu (Reuters; the Speaker in 2020), or Middle Shabelle in another part of Wikipedia's article.

Read the primary sources yourself

• Somaliland Presidency, "Somaliland Grants Hero Pilot Ahmed Dheere's Medal of Honor" (2020): article.
• Somaliland Chronicle, "Witness History: The Somali pilot ordered to bomb his own people in Hargeisa" (2023): article.