...is run by the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), with about the amounts of democracy and justice you'd expect from a party with that name. National elections have been periodically scheduled and cancelled; none have ever been held in the country. The president, Isaias Afewerki, has been in office since independence in 1993 and will probably die there of old age...
n-trained Somali soldiers have arrived in the capital Mogadishu, Defense minister Abdulkadir Mohammed Nur told news hounds, just a day after a pre-recorded video of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud preempting the arrangements emerged.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud had visited Eritrea twice to check on the progress of the over 5,000, in what came after months of electioneering period where the clandestine training of the soldiers was exposed and widely criticized the several opposition leaders at that time including Sheikh Mohamud.
The former administration of Mohammed Abdullahi Farmajo sneaked the soldiers to Eritrea in three batches and their plight would resurface in Somalia following complaints by their families. There were also claims that they engaged directly in the Tigray massacre but there was no incriminating evidence.
Although they had completed training around 2021, they stayed behind a little longer perhaps due to rising political temperatures in Mogadishu. Opposition leaders had claimed that there was a plot to sneak them back to the country purposely to "rig" elections.
In a presser in Mogadishu, the Somali defense minister said the soldiers would participate in ongoing offensive operations against the krazed killer Islamist group al-Shabaab
...... al-Qaeda's tentacle in East Africa.... The offensive is in the fourth month and has registered significant successes.
"These troops will take part in the fight against Khawarij [Al-Shabaab]... Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud traveled to Eritrea twice as part of efforts aimed at ensuring the return of the soldiers to become part of ongoing operations," Somali minister of defense Abdulkadir Mohammed Nur said.
"The government will continue ... the development, enhancing quality and training of the Somali army, which continues to play a pivotal role in the fight against Khawarij."
Over the weekend, the Somali National Army announced that over 150 turbans had been killed in central and southern Somalia just after the historical takeover of Adan Yabal District from the turbans after over six years of dominance. President Hassan Sheikh believes a number of states will be fully liberated from al-Shabaab by the end of this year.
Repatriation and subsequent integration of the soldiers from Eritrea are expected to be completed by the end of January next year, Hassan Sheikh had said. The commandos, including those in the new services of the Navy and Air Force, will be expected to reinforce those on the battlefield across the country.