Defense Minister Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur on Wednesday confirmed the first group’s arrival in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, and said the rest will arrive in the coming days. The minister did not say how many recruits returned home from the training in Eritrea, which the previous administration under former President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed initially kept secret. The recruits were first sent to Eritrea in 2019, but Mohamed acknowledged it only after his election defeat earlier this year. Some parents feared their sons had been sent to neighboring Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region, where Eritrean forces were fighting alongside Ethiopian government forces against Tigray ones. I am very honored to see my son decorated with the Somali army uniform and serving his country.”When current president Mohamud visited the Somali soldiers in Eritrea in July and November, he promised they would soon return home.

Source: Ethiopian News December 21, 2022 17:25 UTC