Mogadishu — The Kosovo government has asked Somalia’s federal government to help locate nine members of an official Somali delegation who left their accommodation near Pristina without notifying security authorities and failed to board their scheduled flight out of the country, raising serious concerns about their condition and whereabouts.
In a diplomatic note dated Oct. 30, Kosovo’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora said the nine members left their accommodation at Dua Village at around 7:10 p.m. on Oct. 27, a day before they were scheduled to depart the country.
Kosovo’s National Protocol Office discovered the members were missing on Oct. 28 while preparing transport to take the delegation to Pristina International Airport, where the nine members failed to appear in the VIP section.
Preliminary information indicates that the members left the location voluntarily and may have travelled elsewhere. However, officials said they had no reliable information about their current whereabouts or whether they had left Kosovo entirely.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora of the Republic of Kosovo expresses serious concern over the lack of information regarding the whereabouts of the nine members of the Somali delegation, as well as the failure to notify the competent authorities of the change in their presence and arrangements for their departure,” the diplomatic note said.
The Somali delegation initially arrived in Kosovo on Oct. 25 aboard a Turkish Airlines flight at around 7:45 p.m.
The delegation’s visit was led at the time by then Somali State Minister for Public Works, Reconstruction and Housing Said Mohamed Mohamud, and then Deputy Minister for Ports and Maritime Transport Fartun Abdikadir Farah.
The two senior officials left Kosovo on Oct. 28, with Mohamud departing in the early hours of the day and Farah leaving later that evening.
Kosovo officials said efforts to obtain information from the leaders of the Somali delegation had produced no response.
“As of the time this official document (Note Verbale) was prepared, the ministry had no information confirming their whereabouts, their residency status or whether they had left the territory of the Republic of Kosovo,” the ministry said.
The diplomatic note also focused on the security and safety of the nine people, whose circumstances remain unclear.
“Beyond the administrative and protocol aspects, this situation also raises concerns about the safety and well-being of the nine individuals concerned, given that their current location and condition have not yet been established,” the note said.
Kosovo asked Somalia to treat the matter as a priority and provide any information that could help determine the members’ whereabouts and verify their safety.
The incident has also drawn attention to how the official visit was organised and to those selected to form part of the Somali delegation.
On Nov. 4, Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre dismissed Mohamud and Farah from their positions.
The Office of the Prime Minister of Somalia did not provide a clear explanation for their dismissal, and there is no official evidence indicating a connection between the move and the disappearance of the nine delegation members.
Somalia’s federal government has not yet publicly commented on the incident, nor has it clarified whether it has contacted the individuals being sought.
It remains unclear whether the nine members are still hiding inside Kosovo, have travelled to other countries or intend to remain abroad.
Kosovo’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated the need for urgent cooperation between the two sides to establish the facts surrounding their departure and ensure their safety.
