Ilhan Omar, a representative from the United States, arrived in Mogadishu on Sunday to meet with Somali government officials.
The last two days were spent by Congresswoman Omar in Garowe, the regional hub of Puntland.
She was greeted at Mogadishu’s Adan Adde International Airport by MP Sadia Yasin Samatar, the first deputy speaker of the Lower House of the Somali parliament, Khadijo Mohamed Diriye, the minister for women and human rights development, and other government officials.
Ilhan Omar reportedly intended to travel to Bosaso after ending her visit to Garowe, but she was prevented from doing so.
Omar refuted claims that the president of Puntland had forbidden her from traveling to Bosaso, a coastal city in northeastern Somalia.
Deni reportedly gave Ilhan Omar the order to stay away from Bosaso so that she wouldn’t meet with parliamentarians and traditional leaders that he disagrees with, according to local media.
She adds that there was no reason why she couldn’t have visited the town of Bosaso, only that she didn’t have enough time.
Ilhan Omar, who recently won a third term in the US Congress, went to Somalia to learn more about the one-person, one-vote elections that Puntland will have in 2023.