Somalia president returns to Eritrea to bring back trained soldiers

The expenses of the training were initially promised by Qatar but when Farmajo was defeated in the May 15 election, Doha refused to pay the money, as its close ally has vacated Villa Somalia.

News Keydmedia Online
10 November 2022

ASMARA, Eritrea - Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has on Thursday Afternoon reached Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, which he visited in July this year, a month after assuming the office.

Mohamud and his delegation were welcomed by his Eritrean leader Isaias Afwerki at the airport, where he was escorted to the presidential palace for talks on bilateral ties and other key issues.

President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, H.E. Hassan S. Mohamud, arrived in Asmara in the mid-afternoon hours today for an official four-day visit to the country. The President & his delegation were accorded a warm welcome by Pre. Isaias on their arrival at Asmara International Airport" said Eritrea's information minister Yemane G. Meskel

According to KON sources, the purpose of the President's trip is to discuss with Afwerki the return of five thousand Somali soldiers who were trained in Eritrea and kept in camps against their will.

The soldiers were secretly recruited and subsequently sent to Eritrea by Fahad Yasin, the former director of NISA, who wanted to use the army as a special force to keep Farmajo in power.

There has been a challenge in the process the bring back the soldiers as there were reports that Eritrea has demanded 50 million dollars, which it said was the cost of training and food.

The expenses of the training were initially promised by Qatar but when Farmajo was defeated in the May 15 election, Doha refused to pay the money, as its close ally has vacated Villa Somalia.

The youths, most high school boys were lured to job opportunities in Qatar to work at the World cup 2022, but, they ended up in training camps in Eritrea between 2019 and 2020, where several died, according to Villa Somalia spokesman Abdikarin Ali Kaar.

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