Somalia's president on 3rd visit to Eritrea since mid-2022

ASMARA, Eritrea - For the third time in eight months, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has yet again visited Eritrea which is traning Somali soldiers who were dispatched by the former administration led Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmajo.

State media reported that President Hassan Sheikh travelled on Monday evening to Asmara, where he is scheduled to have talk with his counterpart Isaias Afwerki, the president of Eritrea who has been in power for three decades.

During the two-day visit, the leaders will discuss bilateral ties and regional matters, according to Eritrea's information minster Yemane Meskel.

The president landed in Asmara this evening and would hold bilateral meeting with Afwerki, who has been championing for Tripartite agreement involving Ethiopia, Somalia and Eritrea. The three countries have long historical ties which have not however, lacked ups and downs which at some point led to animosity.

"As part of his vision to have cordial relations with the region, President Hassan Mohamud has landed in Asmara to have talks with his counterpart President Isaias Afwerki, " state media reported without giving finer details about the trip which comes at the time Somalia is fighting Al-Shabaab militants.

During his first trip, Hassan Sheikh checked on the status of training of Somalia soldiers in the country who had been accused by UN special rapporteur of participating in Tigray conflict which left thousands of people dead. However, Ethiopia and Somalia's government at that time denied the allegations.

And in his second trip, Hassan Sheikh visited the soldiers where he announced their immediate repatriation and subsequent integration to Somali National Army. Already, a number of them have arrived in the country and even joined their colleagues in fighting Al-Shabaab militants.

Recently, Eritrea took in thousands of soldiers for training following the request by Somalia with the beneficiaries getting training and basic tactics to serve in Air Force and Navy. Somalia has also been working with infantry soldiers alone for the last three decades due to instability which followed after the toppling of Siad Barre's administration.

Besides Eritrea admitting new recruits, Ethiopia also reportedly took 3,000 more and Egypt is also planning to join them. International partners are working tirelessly to build a strong army which can withstand pressure once the peacekeepers leave Somalia in the next few months upon full implementation of Somali Transitional Plan.

Somalia is currently fighting the militants in a war which has left thousands of them dead since the victory of Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. The group has lost significant territories in the last seven months and fighters are said to he decamping after suffering a series of defeats in central and southern Somalia.

GAROWE ONLINE