Somalia denies involvement in Ethiopia conflict
Somalia’s Information Minister, Osman Abukar Dubbe, has dismissed reports that Somali soldiers took part in the conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region.
He also denied reports that hundreds of Somali soldiers were killed in the conflict, state-owned Somali National TV (SNTV) has reported.
“It is unfortunate that people are trying to find political gains from our national army. We are confirming that the fake news, which is meant for politics and business, that claimed Somali troops training in Eritrea took part in fighting in Tigray Region, northern Ethiopia, is not true,” Mr Dubbe
The minister said the Ethiopian government did not request Somali soldiers to fight in Tigray.
Mr Dubbe said similar “propaganda was spread in the past claiming Somali soldiers took part in fighting in Libya and Azerbaijan, which was confirmed to be fake”.
The minister’s statement comes after a former deputy chief of Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), Abdisalan Yusuf Guled, claimed some 400 Somali soldiers were killed in Tigray in November last year.
