Somalia has begun repatriating troops it said it sent for training in neighbouring Eritrea, after protests in several Somali cities over accusations that they had been recruited under false pretences and held captive.
The soldiers were sent to Eritrea during former president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo's administration. After coming to power in May, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud's government said that 5,000 missing soldiers had been "found" in Eritrea and would be brought home soon.
Several of their family members told Reuters last year that the men had been recruited by Somalia's federal government for jobs in Qatar, but that they then surfaced in Eritrea where they were forced to serve in the military.
