File Photo of an Ethiopian soldier
ESAT News (November 21, 2017)
A search for a group of soldiers whose numbers is estimated to be at least 30 has continued in Southern Ethiopia along the country’s border with Kenya, according to ESAT’s sources.
The group of soldiers lost communication with their base and disappeared on Monday.
A search operation by two teams have not bear fruit thus far.
According sources, officers put the radio communication operator Corporal Regassa, under arrest accusing him of giving two conflicting information to his seniors on the whereabouts of the soldiers when they lost communication with the base.
Tension runs high within the 10th division of the army in Southern Ethiopia following the disappearance of the soldiers whom senior officers now believe that they might have deserted the army.
Desertion in the Ethiopian army has increased in recent years with soldiers expressing dismay over corruption, nepotism and ethnic marginalization within the army. Tigrayan officers and generals represent 90% of the top brass creating resentment among other members of the force who are ethnic majority.