Somali president visits soldiers training in Eritrea

Somalia's new President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Monday visited members of the Somali army receiving naval training in Eritrea.

The soldiers have been undergoing three years of rigorous military training, according to Eritrea's information ministry .

The ministry tweeted photos of President Mohamud with his Eritrean host, President Isaias Afewerki, during a visit to the port city of Mossawa where they "inspected military parade of speed boats of members of the Somali army".

On Sunday, Eritrea's state television aired footage of the Somali soldiers in a parade.

Former Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo was criticised for sending the troops - estimated to be thousands - to Eritrea.

This followed claims that some of them fought alongside Eritrean soldiers in backing the Ethiopian army's offensive against rebel fighters in the Tigray region.

The Somali government denied the allegations.

This article originally appeared in BBC News

Photo: Twitter/ @hawelti