Somaliland ruling party chairman meets Bristol supporters

The chairman of Somaliland’s ruling party has visited Bristol to meet his supporters and the city’s Somaliland community as a whole.

Musa Bihi, from ruling party Kulmiye, travelled to the city ahead of upcoming elections in Somaliland.

He also met with Stephen Williams, Lib Dem MP for Bristol West, and Geoffrey Gollop, the Lord Mayor of Bristol.

Somaliland declared independence after the overthrow of Somali military dictator Siad Barre in 1991.

The Somaliland local elections are due to take place in the next few months.

During the visit on Sunday, Mr Bihi said: “Bristol is I think the most important place for our party in the mobilisation of financial support, political support.

“The UK supports us in several fields – security, education, health, and we have a lot of gratitude to the British government and the British people for their support in our difficult time.”

BBC employee Mohammed Ahmed, who attended Mr Bihi’s visit, said: “It’s an opportunity for the diaspora of Bristol to engage with the community back home and maintain its place as the most significant diaspora group in the UK, if not Europe.”

BBC News