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Somali Men Secretly Sent to Eritrea’s Military Force – Eritrea is known to be one of the most secretive countries in the world. When officials from the Somalia National Intelligence Agency arrived with $ 10,000 in cash, Ali Jamac Dhoodi realized that his son had died in Eritrea.
Dhoodi, like many other parents in Somalia, were led to believe that the federal government of Somalia was recruiting their children to work in Qatar. But the truth is that these young men were forced to serve in the Eritrean military against their will.
It was last April that the official approached Dhoodi with cash as compensation for his son who died in Eritrea. He had thought his son was working as a security guard in Qatar, helping to prepare for the soccer World Cup next year.
In a conversation with Reuters, the 48-year-old father said: “They showed me a photo from his WhatsApp and asked me: ‘Do you know this photo and his full name?’ I said, ‘yes, he is my son’. They told me ‘your son died’. I cried. ” After handing over the money, officials told him not to ask questions.
Dhoodi’s case is not isolated. “We were all surprised to land in Eritrea. We thought they were going to fly us to Qatar, ”Saddam, 21, told his father, Hussein Warsame.
Warsame had believed that her son was hired for a security job in Qatar in October 2019. But after more than a year, Saddam called from Eritrea. “Dad, there is no life here, I have not seen food except a piece or slice of bread since I left Somalia in 2019, and when recruits demonstrate or reject orders, a bullet is an answer,” Warsame quoted his son.
What is happening in Eritrea?
There have been reports that Eritrean forces have been involved in the fighting that broke out in November last year in neighboring Ethiopia’s north. However, Eritrea and Ethiopia have flatly denied this.
But Somalis believe that their youth are being secretly recruited for this fight. This apparent secret recruitment of young Somalis in Eritrea is arousing public ire in the country. Protests broke out last week in the capital Mogadishu and the cities of Guriel and Galkayo over the missing recruits. Somali government spokesman Mohamed Ibrahim claimed that no Somalis had been sent to Ethiopia.
Image Credit: Reuters
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