PM's commission on Somalia's "missing" soldiers in Tigray conflict rejected

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MOGADISHU, Somalia - The commission of inquiry on Somalia's missing soldiers believed to have played a role in the Tigray war may be reviewed again, following the latest protest by the opposition, which wants an independent and neutral team given the responsibility.

In a press release, the union of presidential candidates on Sunday said that the commission unveiled by Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble is "unbalanced" and would therefore not give an "accurate" outcome as expected of them by members of the public.

For the commission to make sense, the union said, Roble should appoint a neutral team possibly from members of the civil society and political parties. The candidates didn't give specific names to participate in the inquest, which is all-important.

There are close to 5,000 Somali soldiers whose whereabouts are unknown ever since they left for Eritrea for training. The soldiers' families have never been briefed about the whereabouts of the troops, contrary to codes of ethics.

Among those in the commission are the Ministers of Defense, Interior, Army Chief Gen Odowaa Yusuf Rageh, and Somali Ambassador to Ethiopia. They will have some time before publishing their findings on the situation of the troops in Eritrea where it's also being alleged that they were secretly smuggled the Tigray for the ongoing war.

A report published by the UN Special Rapporteur to Eritrea revealed that the Somali troops in Eritrea crossed over the border the Ethiopia where they engaged in mass murder against the Tigrayan people. Ethiopia National Defense Forces [ENDF] got reinforcement from Eritrean troops in the war against Tigray People's Liberation Front [TPLF] fighters.

Even though the rapporteur didn't publish specific evidence, however, he did confirm that indeed the Somali troops were sighted in Axum, a holy city in northern Ethiopia. They were in the company of Eritrea troops, the report further revealed.

Investigations obtained by Garowe Online have since established that the deployment of the troops to Eritrea for training was done by only four senior individuals including President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo and the National Intelligence Security Agency [NISA] boss Fahad Yasin.

The government insists that the soldiers didn't cross over to Ethiopia for the war, adding that such information is "misleading" and meant to injure the reputation of the federal government of Somalia. According to Mogadishu, the soldiers are still in training camps.

Some critics argue that the initial motive for training is to give President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo an easy time in managing the country, including holding a firm grip on power. Their families have been too protesting in other countries.

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has also been under persistent criticism from the international community over the Tigray murder. Analyst Rashid Abdi, to end the Tigray genocide, a lot of concessions ought to be made, including stripping off Abiy Ahmed Nobel Peace Prize.

"Here is what the world can do and must do to end Tigray genocide: Strip Abiy of Nobe, Indict war criminal Afewerki, Indict Amhara genocidaires, impose targeted sanctions on all top army, intelligence officials in Ethiopia, Eritrea," he argues.

GAROWE ONLINE

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