Eritrea has had the history of conscripting its youth for compulsory military service, an act for which it has been criticised by the international community as forcing the youth to flee the country for better opportunities.
Eritrea has now announced it would cut the size of its army as part of changes to a system of mandatory national service that the United Nations blames for propelling tens of thousands of people to flee to Europe and neighboring countries.
According to the Rights groups and the UN, the conscription policy fuelled a wave of migration. In 2015, Eritreans were the fourth-largest group illicitly crossing the Mediterranean, adding to Europe’s refugee crisis.
“Definitely a small army will remain, and the others will concentrate on the developmental work as planned,” Minister for Labour and Human Welfare Luul Gebreab said.
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