HARGEISA (Somaliguardian) – Djibouti on Friday denied it had detained Somalia’s former spy chief Fahad Yasin, saying a statement issued by a spokesman for Somali president accusing Djiboutian authorities of the arrest as “fake news”.
A spokesman for Somali president Abdirashid Hashi, in an interview with Universal TV asserted that Yasin had been unlawfully held at an airport in Djibouti for hours after disembarking Turkish Airlines flight and accused Djiboutian authorities of violating the international law.
It came a week after Mr Yasin had been suspended by the prime minister, a move that triggered rebuke from the president, who later appointed him as his security advisor.
Turkish Airlines flight carrying Yasin and other passengers from Istanbul and en-route to Mogadishu had been cancelled and rerouted to Djibouti. There were reports that Somali aviation authorities warned planes not to bring the former spy boss to Mogadishu, accusing him of mobilizing forces against the government and breaching security at Adan Adde Airport.
President’s spokesman denied the cancellation of the flight was due to a wrangling between Somalia’s most powerful leaders and said Turkish Airlines was forced to return Yasin and all other passengers to Istanbul.
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