General Tahalil: Most of Eritrean-trained soldiers returned to Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Almost all Somalia soldiers who have been training in Eritrea have been successfully repatriated to the country, a senior military official has confirmed, just a few weeks after President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud affirmed that the troops will join the rest in the ongoing operation against Al-Shabaab.

President Hassan Sheikh, in a video shared by Villa Somalia, insisted that the country would ensure all the troops have returned by the end of January 2023, noting that their skills would ultimately be useful in eradication of the militants who control large swathes of rural central and southern Somalia.

And while addressing several infantry units at Run-Nurgod, General Mohamed Tahlil Bihi, the commander of the Somali National Army [SNA] Land Forces, noted that most of the soldiers have since returned home and have joined the ongoing offensive against the Al-Shabaab extortionists.

"The spirit of patriotism should guide us all the time," he said. "We have the general duty to protect civilians from these enemies who have been derailing Somalia for the last three decades. We have the ability to eliminate them completely and I am very encouraged with the gains made."

He added: "You are not alone since those of us who have been training in Eritrea have joined the war. Only a few of them are remaining but they will be joining us soon. We have a strong force which has the capacity to liberate the country from these enemies who have been harassing people."

The general noted that the army with the help of the international partners has managed to seize several towns from the Al-Shabaab, who he termed as " weak individuals without a course". He asked the army to remain united and sacrifice for the country and future generations.

In 2019, about 5,000 Somali young men were dispatched to Eritrea for clandestine training, leading to complaints from their own families. The families would later reveal that the group was taken in three batches and had been promised to be taken to Qatar for training only to end up in the Red Sea nation.

There were claims that the military trainee was smuggled to Ethiopia's Tigray region where they committed genocide but Somalia and Ethiopia rejected the claims. The United Nations special rapporteur to Eritrea claimed the Somali soldiers and their Eritrean counterparts were stationed in Axum town in northern Tigray.

With the fresh troops about to join the frontline, it is expected that the country will win the war against Al-Shabaab in the coming months. In fact, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud had indicated that the country will be free from Al-Shabaab terrorists in about three months.

GAROWE ONLINE