Eritrea continues to prolong the statutory duration of its national service because of the illegal occupation of its territory by neighbouring Ethiopia, its Minister of Information has said. It is largely reported that the forced national service allied with a struggling economy were responsible for the decision by most young people leaving the country to make the perilous journey towards Europe. The government reserves the right to extend length of service in periods of emergency. “The government is doing the utmost that it can do, under the circumstances,” Ghebremeskel told Reuters in 2016, saying salaries would rise but there were no plans to scrap or cut national service. You are talking about prolongation of national service in response to … continued belligerence by Ethiopia,” he added.

Source: Ethiopian News February 08, 2018 13:30 UTC