Somalia Defence Ministry: Addresses Soldier Allowance Concerns

Mogadishu, Somalia — Somalia's Defence Minister Ahmed Macallin Fiqi and army commander Brigadier General Ibrahim Mohamed Mohamud have met children orphaned by soldiers who died defending the country, the ministry said. The officials held a briefing and encouragement session with some of the children and pledged to regularly monitor their welfare and provide appropriate care and support. The meeting comes amid concerns over reported cuts to financial assistance for families of soldiers killed in combat, military personnel disabled during operations and retired service members. Some affected families have said their allowances were reduced without sufficient explanation for the changes. The Defence Committee of Somalia's House of the People has summoned Fiqi and the army commander to respond to reports of cuts to allowances for retired and disabled soldiers and families of troops killed in combat. The committee has also asked the officials to clarify the legal basis for the reported changes. Read the original article on Shabelle . AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 90 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals , representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica . To address comments or complaints, please Contact us . AllAfrica is a voice of, by and about Africa - aggregating, producing and distributing 600 news and information items daily from over 90 African news organizations and our own reporters to an African and global public. We operate from Cape Town, Dakar, Abuja, Johannesburg, Nairobi and Washington DC. Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy . We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.