Somalia will soon bring home 5,000 men it sent to train in Eritrea as soldiers, a government spokesperson said on Tuesday, after months of protests by the men's parents claiming they had been recruited under false pretences and held captive.
Initial reports that thousands of men had gone missing provoked protests in the capital Mogadishu and several towns in January 2021. Months later, a Somali intelligence agent investigating the case was killed.
Last week, newly elected President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud met with the soldiers in Eritrea, his office said, without saying how many had been taken. His predecessor had refused to answer questions on the subject.
