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Africa Horn
Anger in Somalia as sons secretly sent to serve in Eritrea military force
2021-01-29
[Garowe] MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Ali Jamac Dhoodi thought his son was working as a security guard in Qatar, helping prepare for next year's soccer World Cup. Then one day last April, officials from Somalia's National Intelligence Agency arrived with $10,000 in cash. They told him his son had died - not in Qatar, but in Eritrea, one of the world's most secretive countries.

Ali's son was one of three young Somali men whose families told Reuters they had been recruited by Somalias federal government for jobs in Qatar, only to surface in Eritrea, where they were sent to serve in a military force against their will. Two other families said their sons had simply disappeared.
"Mom, where's Timmy?"
"He's gone to Minnesota, dear. And don't ask."
The apparent secret recruitment of young Somali men for a fighting force in Eritrea is stirring public anger in Somalia, a poor country where opportunities to work abroad are eagerly sought. Protests erupted last week in the capital Mogadishu and in the towns of Guriel and Galkayo over the missing recruits.
Angry enough to seethe, not angry enough to do something about it...
Reports that Eritrean forces have taken part in the fighting that broke out in November last year in neighboring northern Ethiopia - which Eritrea and Ethiopia strongly deny - have led some Somalis to worry their sons may have been sent there.

Asked if Eritrea had recruited Somalis, trained them, or sent them to Ethiopia, Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Meskel told Reuters: "This is ludicrous ... There is massive disinformation floating around."
"No, no, certainly not!"
Somali government spokesman Mohamed Ibrahim and Information Minister Osman Dube did not respond to requests for comment on the Somali government's apparent role in the recruitment, but Ibrahim said no Somalis had been sent to Ethiopia.

The leaders of Somalia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea have been drawing closer together since 2018, after a change of leadership in Ethiopia. Ethiopia and Eritrea, once archenemies, signed a peace deal and have regular high-level visits. Somalia - which once accused Eritrea of supporting Islamist rebels - now has friendly relations with its president.

A regional security analyst who asked not to be identified told Reuters he had learned from conversations with Somali security officials that about 1,000 Somalis had been recruited and taken to Eritrea in at least three groups. One group had returned to Somalia, the second group was unreachable and the third was still in Eritrea.
Posted by:Steve White

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