MOGADISHU, Somalia – Thousands of Somali soldiers training in Eritrea completed their training two years after recruiting, a senior source confirmed, but they have since been subjected to “slavery” by their hosts and are being treated “in an inhuman manner. “.
In an interview with Voice of America, Somali, one of the soldiers recounts his experience in Eritrea, giving a clue as to what might happen to them, even as the Somali government remains quiet about their fate and future in the military.
Speaking anonymously, the intern describes his living conditions as harsh and miserable. “We are treated in an inhuman manner, sometimes we work in agricultural fields”, he notes, which could still trigger a heated debate on their deployment in Eritrea.
According to him, they have since completed their two-year training in Eritrea but have been subjected to constant “slavery” and “cruel” punishment, with their future almost uncertain. It is estimated that there are nearly 5,000 and reported in three batches.
Some, he said, have since died as a result of the inhuman treatment to which they were subjected, but did not give the exact number of those who could have died. A number of them, he added, are suffering from injuries inflicted on them by their hosts in Eritrea.
“We finished military training in September, but since we were in slavery and constantly subjected to cruel punishment until some of us died from the injuries inflicted,” he told Voice of America, Somali.
Interestingly, he has neither confirmed nor denied the participation of some of them in the Tigray War, which left thousands dead. A report by the UN special rapporteur in Eritrea confirmed that a number of Somali soldiers were sneaked from Asmara to the Tigray region where they participated in the mass murder of residents.
But the Somali government has persistently denied the allegations despite confirmation that there are indeed troops training in Eritrea. “In many countries, politicians avoid discussing bilateral defense and security issues or issues affecting the forces because it is considered a top national secret,” Information Minister Osman Abukar Dubbe said.
“Unfortunately, our Somali politicians have made politicizing our forces a dangerous pastime,” he added, even as the parents of the young people continue to demand answers from the government on the plight of the trainee soldiers.
Investigations by The Axadlehave established that outgoing President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo of the National Intelligence Security Agency [NISA] Boss Fahad Yasin, and two others coordinated illegal recruiting in 2019. Farmajo is believed to want to use the troops to continue to cling to power.
Samira Gaid, former security adviser to the Prime Minister’s Office, exonerated former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire, arguing that he was kept too much in the dark when the recruitment was carried out. She also wonders about the method of recruitment.
“If the troops wanted to be trained abroad, there must be an agreement between the two countries, so there was no pact that the government signed,” she said in an interview with the Voice of America, Somali section.
“If I give you an example, we sent soldiers to Turkey for training following an agreement signed in 2018 by the former Minister of Defense, who is currently Speaker of the House Mohamed Mursal, and the cabinet l ‘adopted, “she said adding,” and the UK is now training Somali soldiers in Baidoa as part of a deal. ”
Each agreement is submitted to the cabinet for ratification and approval, so the decision that the soldiers were sent to Eritrea did not go through the cabinet and the prime minister’s office, she noted, in which further implicates the regime of Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo.
For now, it is difficult to get complete information on the recruitment, even the exact number of people taken to Eritrea, given that most of the reports are kept by the spy agency, whose management is closely related. linked to the operations of Villa Somalia.
The news comes even as Eritrea files yet another complaint against the United Nations Security Council and heads of United Nations humanitarian agencies over the situation in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, reports the Africa Times.
The Eritrean mission and United Nations Ambassador Sophia Tesfamariam expressed frustration that the nation’s representatives were not included in their Tuesday meeting on the humanitarian crisis in Tigray, leaving Eritrea no possibility to counter the serious allegations made against him.
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