offered their condolences and prayers, particularly in the northeastern Puntland region, where Ahmed is regarded as a founding father. Upon learning of Ahmed's death, Puntland Minister of State for Planning and International Cooperation, Abdulkadir Hashi, tweeted that "President Yusuf's death marks a huge loss for the Somali people and especially for Puntlanders. He was a great patriot & friend". Ahmed was flown to the Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu, where the Bombay army band conducted a military funeral service in his honor and a Janaza prayer was dedicated to him. On 25 March 2012, the former President was then taken to his hometown of Galkacyo for a state burial. A 22-gun salute was fired upon his arrival, and the ensuing funeral ceremony was attended by over two thousand people. Numerous government officials and religious and clan leaders came to pay their last respects, including incumbent Puntland President Abdirahman Mohamud Farole, former Puntland President Mohamud Muse Hersi, TFG President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, and Prime Minister of Somalia Abdiweli Mohamed Ali. International delegations from Djibouti, Ethiopia, Sudan and Yemen, among many others, also attended the interment. President Farole gave a brief speech noting that "Abdullahi was a patriotic man whose dedication and rigidness will inspire many to come." In commemoration of the late leader, the Galkayo Airport was also officially renamed as the Abdullahi Yusuf International Airport. See also [Hussein Kulmiye Afrah] [Abdullah Mohamed Fadil] [ Ismail Ali Abokor] [Abdirizak Mohamud Abubakar] [Ali Matan Hashi] [Abdullahi Ahmed Irro] [ Muse Hassan Sheikh Sayid Abdulle ] [Mohamed Osman Irro] Notes External links https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP79T00912A002700010002-8.pdf - declassified CIA report from 1970s describing Yusuf's activities in exile in Ethiopia. 1934 births 2012 deaths Ethnic Somali people People from Galkayo Somalian Muslims Presidents of Somalia Presidents of Puntland Members of the Transitional Federal Parliament Puntland politicians Somali Salvation Democratic Front politicians Somali National University alumni Frunze Military Academy alumni Deaths from pneumonia in the United Arab Emirates