MOGADISHU, Somalia – Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble is again under pressure to issue a statement on the disappearance of young soldiers who are said to be training in Eritrea, but whose parents have questioned their parents.
Over the past four months, hundreds of parents have demonstrated in Somalia, demanding to know the whereabouts of the young soldiers, who were reportedly airlifted to Eritrea in 2019-2020 for training. The government has remained silent although it admits that indeed soldiers are training in Eritrea.
Abdirizak Mohamed, a federal MP, now wants Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble to tell the soldiers frankly, noting that the committee that was appointed by the OPM should release the report for the sake of the anxious parents who are in the dark at this subject.
“Prime Minister Mohamed Roble, I follow up on Somali conscripts secretly trained in Eritrea. The UN report alleged that Somali recruits were involved in the Tigray War, in response you appointed a committee to investigate. Could you update the parents of the recruits on the status of the investigation, “he said in a tweet.
Several sources have suggested to Axadlethat the exact number could be around 5,000-7,000, but a number of them are believed to have died or escaped from the training grounds. Initially, they were told they had to go to Qatar for military training.
Earlier this week, one of the soldiers who reportedly escaped training with five others died in Afgoye after a fight with his friend. The young soldier told reporters in April that the training conditions in Eritrea were “extremely hard on us”.
A report by the United Nations special rapporteur in Eritrea claimed that hundreds of Somali soldiers training in Eritrea traveled to the Tigray region of Ethiopia where they allegedly helped Eritrea and the ENDF to exterminate the Tigray community in pursuit of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigray. [TPLF] fighters or TDF. Somalia has since denied the allegations.
Information Minister Osman Abukar Dubbe, while admitting that there are indeed soldiers training in Eritrea, accused politicians of “hijacking” the noble project, adding that it is a national security issue which should not be open to discussion.
“In many countries, politicians shy away from discussing bilateral defense and security issues or force issues, as this is considered a top national secret. Unfortunately, our Somali politicians have made politicizing our forces a dangerous pastime, ”he said.
The young soldiers were reportedly being trained to help protect President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo who continues to cling to power, but authorities in Mogadishu have dismissed the claims. They are expected to return home at the end of the year.
AXADLETM
