General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Mohamed Hasan Abdullahi () also known as "Jidhif" was a

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

of the Somaliland Armed Forces. He hails from the Jibril Abokor, a Sa'ad Musa sub-division of the

Habr Awal The Habr Awal, alternately known as the Zubeyr Awal (, , Full Name: '' Abd al-Raḥmān ibn ash-Ishaaq bin Ahmed, Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad)'' is one of the largest subclans of the wider Isaaq clan family, and is further divided into eight su ...

Isaaq The Isaaq (, , ''Banu Ishaq'') is a major Somali clans, Somali clan. It is one of the largest Somali clan families in the Horn of Africa, with a large and densely populated traditional territory. The Isaaq people claim in a traditional legend ...

clan. In the 1980s, he joined the

Somali National Movement The Somali National Movement (, ) was one of the first and most important Guerrilla warfare, organized guerilla groups and Mujahideen groups that opposed the Siad Barre regime in the 1980s to the 1990s, as well as being the main anti-government f ...

. Before being appointed as the chief of staff, he was head of Mercy Corps in

Somaliland Somaliland, officially the Republic of Somaliland, is an List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country in the Horn of Africa. It is located in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden and bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, E ...

Biography

Jidhif was born in

Hargeisa Hargeisa ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Somaliland, a ''List of states with limited recognition, de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still considered internationally to be part of Somalia. It is also th ...

in 1950. His father is Xasan Cabdi Laahi and his mother is Aamina Yoonis Boon. Jidhif entered elementary school in Tog Wajaale in 1960. His nickname Jidhif was given to him at this time by journalist Ahmed Hassan Awke. He received his secondary education from 1963 at the Eek Amoud School in

Borama Borama (, ) is the largest city of the northwestern Awdal region of Somaliland. The commercial seat of the province, it is situated near the border with Ethiopia. During the Middle Ages, Borama was ruled by the Adal Sultanate. It later formed a ...

. He attended the Burco technical institute from 1967 to 1970.

Somali armed forces officer

In 1970, Jidhif joined the Somali armed forces and attended the Army University in

Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, from that year until 1973. He entered

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

in 1973 with a degree in civil engineering. In 1977 Somalia began a war with neighboring

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

(

Ogaden War The Ogaden War, also known as the Ethio-Somali War (, ), was a military conflict between Somali Democratic Republic, Somalia and derg, Ethiopia fought from July 1977 to March 1978 over control of the sovereignty of the Ogaden region. Somalia ...

); Jidhif returned to Somalia in 1977 to serve in the war. Since 1981, Jidhif has worked for Chafrol Intertnational Oil Company, a U.S.-based oil research company.

Somali National Movement

Jidhif was arrested in Somalia in 1984 and placed in Godka Prison and eventually sent to Mandera Prison. Upon his release in 1987, he fled the capital,

Mogadishu Mogadishu, locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Ocean for millennia and has ...

, to Ethiopia. He passed through Ferfer in Ethiopia and joined the

(SNM) in Mustahīl. In late 1988, Jidhif became the first commander of the 99th SNM battalion established in Baligubadle, Somaliland. The battalion was given about 400 infantrymen, one dump truck, and one gun truck. Jidhif's forces put up a good fight, but early in the battle the SNM was defeated by Somali armed forces and temporarily withdrew to Ethiopia. Soon, however, they succeeded in counterattacking, forcing the Somali armed forces to retreat.

After the founding of Somaliland

When Somaliland was founded in 1991, Jidhif was put in charge of the security forces; in 1994 he became the first deputy commander of the Somaliland Police.

Chief of staff

He was appointed as the

of the Military of Somaliland in a presidential decree by President Mohamed Haji Ibrahim Egal. He succeeded the rehabilitation of the Somaliland clans that was spearheaded at that time by General Hassan Yonis Habane. On 11 December 2011, he was appointed as chief of staff of the military of Somaliland in a presidential decree by President Ahmed Mahamoud Silanyo. His predecessor was abruptly dismissed, the reason for which was not disclosed. On 9 February 2012, Abdullahi was sacked due to the inability of Somaliland Armed Forces' to take control of

Buuhoodle Buuhoodle (, ), also known as Bohotle, serves as a significant border town for the movement of goods between Khatumo State, Khaatumo and the Somali Region of Ethiopia. The surrounding district is rich in livestock with growing agricultural activ ...

from forces loyal to the then newly established

Khatumo State SSC-Khaatumo (), officially known as the SSC-Khaatumo State of Somalia (), is a federal member state in northern Somalia, with its capital in Las Anod. It includes parts of the Sool, Sanaag and Cayn regions (combined under the acronym "SSC") ...

.J
Somaliland President Sacks Military Chief
''SomaliaReport'', February 09, 2012, accessed February 10, 2012 The handover ceremony to Jidhif's successor Ismail Mohamed Osman was held in private.

After Retiring

In February 2014, he criticized the UN's policy of neglecting Somaliland in favor of Somalia. In September 2014, the international community criticized the Somaliland military for its lack of understanding. In May 2016, Jidhif spoke about former Somaliland President Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal, who died 14 years ago. In June 2016, Jidhif, along with several others, was invited to a dinner by Mawliid Ibraahim Sabeyse, Suldaan of Sacad Muuse. n January 2017, Jidhif commented on the Somaliland government and the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

communicating over

Berbera Berbera (; , ) is the capital of the Sahil, Somaliland, Sahil region of Somaliland and is the main sea port of the country, located approximately 160 km from the national capital, Hargeisa. Berbera is a coastal city and was the former capital of t ...

. In November 2017, Jidhif called on the people of Somaliland to keep the peace and to be vigilant against anything that might disturb the peace.

Death

Jidhif died on the evening of November 14, 2023. On November 15, 2023, Jidhif's state funeral was held on the outskirts of Hargeisa, attended by the president of Somaliland and others.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdullahi, Mohamed Hasan Year of birth missing (living people) Somalian generals Chiefs of the General Staff (Somaliland)