UN says Somali youths trained in Eritrea take part fighting in Tigray

File Photo Somali Times




A report released by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that Somali troops undergoing military training in Eritrea have taken part in fighting Ethiopia’s Tigray region. The report confirms previous claims by Somali parents, who complained that their sons, trained by the government in Eritrea, had been transported to Ethiopia to take part in the Tigray conflict.

The United Nations said there is evidence that reliable soldiers have been deployed in the country as part of strengthening the armed forces in Eritrea and Ethiopia.



”In addition to reports of Eritrean military involvement in the Tigrean conflict, the SRSG also received information that Somali soldiers had been relocated from Eritrean military training camps to the frontline of Tigray, where they were accompanied by Eritrean troops, as they crossed the border into Ethiopia,” the report said.

The UN report added that Somali fighters were present in the vicinity of Aksum. But the Somali government has denied reports that their citizens were fighting in Tigray. However, the House Foreign Relations Committee demanded in January that President Mohamed Farmajo clarified the matter and send a fact-finding team to Eritrea to verify the allegations.