Exclusive: Alcohol abuse and mental health increasing among Somalia’s armed forces

The troops were assumed dead after a UN report said last year that Somali troops have been taken to Ethiopia against their will by their Eritrean trainers and took part in the Tigray war. Most of them were killed.

Report Keydmedia Online
Exclusive: Alcohol abuse and mental health increasing among Somalia’s armed forces

Somali soldiers lined up to received president Hassan Sheikh in a camp in Eritrea on Monday, July 11

MOGADISHU, Somalia – Drug addict soldiers are on the rise in the Somali national army [SNA] as the country’s government is trying to rebuild the once loin of Africa armed forces.

A medical report exclusively obtained by Keydmedia Online showed cases of SNA soldiers suffering mental health at a military hospital as a result of drug usage, including Alcohol, Tramadol, and Hashish.

A large number of the Somali soldiers trained in Eritrea became a drug addict after experiencing isolation for three years as they were held hostage by Afwerki’s regime that demanded $5 million for their return.

They have seen neuropsychological disorders and trauma that led them to “a point of no return” as shown in their medical reports.

The soldiers have been cut off from the rest of the world as they are stuck in the Eritrean military camps under difficult living conditions. They were denied access to contact with the families,” said a physiatrist, who spoke to Keydmedia Online on condition of anonymity.

The troops were assumed dead after a UN report said last year that Somali troops have been taken to Ethiopia against their will by their Eritrean trainers and took part in the Tigray war. Most of them were killed.

No one could not tell the whereabouts of the 5,000 soldiers for three years until former immediate president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo announced last month they are alive and ready to be returned.

The new president Hassan Sheikh is currently in Eritrea for a four-day trip, which started last Friday. He visited the troops at their bases and got a briefing on their situation from Afwerki and officials on the ground.

The head of state promised to bring back the fresh soldiers to Somalia in a bid to participate in a planned offensive to flush out Al-Shabaab from the remaining pockets in the south and central regions.

Back in the country’s capital, Mogadishu, drunken men in military uniforms rob the public at gunfight in a broad daylight, adding fuel to the already fragile security in the war-recovering seaside city.

The experts say as long as the drug addictions continue in the security and army forces, it will be difficult for the government to ensure security and restore the rule and law in the long-chaotic country.

KEYDMEDIA English