Tearful farewells amid Eritrea's mass mobilisation: Men are being forced to join the army which has been aiding Ethiopia
Posted: 18 Sep 2022, 09:09
Eritrea is mobilising military reservists to bolster the army, which has been aiding neighbouring Ethiopia in its fight against rebel forces.
Security forces in many areas have been stopping people to check if they are exempt from military conscription.
Groups of men were crying as they bid farewell to relatives, witnesses say.
Many in the capital, Asmara, were given notice on Thursday and moved to the border with Ethiopia's Tigray region, within hours, sources told the BBC.
Reservists up to the age of 55 have been called up, they said.
Eritrea has compulsory, decades-long military service, which has been widely criticised by human-rights groups, but analysts say the latest mobilisation efforts are linked to the civil war in northern Ethiopia - a conflict that recently flared up again after five months of relative peace.
The Eritrean government has not commented on the reports.
Continue reading https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-62927781
Security forces in many areas have been stopping people to check if they are exempt from military conscription.
Groups of men were crying as they bid farewell to relatives, witnesses say.
Many in the capital, Asmara, were given notice on Thursday and moved to the border with Ethiopia's Tigray region, within hours, sources told the BBC.
Reservists up to the age of 55 have been called up, they said.
Eritrea has compulsory, decades-long military service, which has been widely criticised by human-rights groups, but analysts say the latest mobilisation efforts are linked to the civil war in northern Ethiopia - a conflict that recently flared up again after five months of relative peace.
The Eritrean government has not commented on the reports.
Continue reading https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-62927781