Somali troops sent to Eritrea, dead or alive ??

The parents of Somali troops allegedly missing in Eritrea following military training say they fear their children were secretly sent to fight in Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict.

They protested Friday in Mogadishu, calling on President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo’s government to provide information on their whereabouts.

The parents’ concerns were raised after former deputy of Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency Abdisalan Yusuf Guled this month claimed more than 370 Somali troops had died fighting in Tigray.

Maryam Ahmed is the mother of a Somali soldier sent to Eritrea over a year ago. She says mothers like her haven’t heard from their boys since they left for training.

She says their sons are missing since November 2019 and they have no contact from them since then. We don’t eat, drink or sleep due to their unknown situation, she says. 

We urgently need their information, says Maryam, and are calling on the president, the prime minister and all government officials to tell us where our sons are and whether they are dead or alive.

Nonetheless, a Somali parliamentary committee has demanded an explanation from President Farmaajo on the whereabouts of the Somali troops sent to Eritrea.

It was not immediately clear if president Farmaajo would agree to account for the Somali troops sent to Eritrea or if they would be allowed to contact their families to calm fears about their safety.