Ahmed thought her only son was going toe work as a guard assed part of Qatar's 2022 World Cup preparations.

But at her home in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, she now fears the job was a trick on that the 16 year old may have been forcibly recruited to fight for Eritrea, one of the world's most secretive nations.

Boy is missing and I don't know if he's dead or alive.

Their father, a senior military officer, died for his country.

Other families have similar stories on the apparently secret recruitment of youths for Eritrea is stirring anger in Somalia.

Last week, protests were sparked after the former deputy director of Somalia's National Intelligence Security Agency, Abdi Salaam Gould, said Somalis had been sent by Eritrea to fight in Ethiopia's northern Tigre region.

I don't have an accurate number, don't have any evidence, but I do have a reliable source who told me the number off the Somali soldiers, the casualties about 370 another 100 numbers off our died in a butterfield.

He provided a list of names which Reuters was unable to independently verify that, he said was given to him by an Ethiopian official Yeah.

Mohamed Dahir believes his two sons may have been killed in Tigre, where Ethiopia's government has been fighting rebellious regional forces.

He says he can't sleep worrying about his Children on not knowing if they are dead or alive.

I want to do it.

A regional security analysts said around 1000 Somalis had been recruited on taken toe Eritrea, with some having now returned, some unreachable on others still in Eritrea, a country often referred to as the North Korea of Africa.

Somalia's government did not respond to requests for comment on its apparent role in the recruitment.

Those spokesman Mohammed Ibrahim, said no Somalis had been sent to Ethiopia.

Eritrean Information Minister, Yemeni Mescal, said the claims were ludicrous on that there is massive disinformation floating around.