Ethiopia questions Somali soldiers who crossed border to visit families in Somalia

MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Ethiopia’s security agencies have begun interrogating dozens of Somali National Army (SNA) soldiers who crossed into Ethiopian territory after completing training in Somalia’s Galmudug region, according to reports by regional media.

Around 80 soldiers crossed into Ethiopia’s Somali region following the training, which was funded by Saudi Arabia and saw roughly 3,000 SNA members graduate at once. The soldiers have since been taken to Jigjiga, the capital of Ethiopia’s Somali region.

Most of the soldiers are reported to have come from Somalia’s Bakol region and were on their way to their original homes at the time.

The soldiers were reportedly on authorized leave, as confirmed by Somalia’s National Security Advisor Aways Hajji Yusuf, and had chosen to take a long detour through Ethiopian territory for security reasons, in order to avoid possible attacks by Al-Shabaab. The militant group controls major roads connecting Somalia’s Hiran and Bakol regions along the border with Ethiopia.