The protesters were carrying placards written "Return our boys” and other slogans. Some of the parents who spoke to the local media demanded from the government to clarify the whereabouts of their children. 

The protest follows after a recent UN report said that the Somali troops were moved into Ethiopia’s Tigray region to fight alongside the with the Eritrean troops.

Somali opposition presidential candidates joined the Somali parents in asking a thorough investigation into the missing boys. 

Former Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has urged the leaders of the federal government to address about the controversy surrounding the training of Somali soldiers in Eritrea barely a day after UN report confirmed presence of Somali soldiers in Tigray region.

"I tell the former President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo and his team, you cannot hide the fact of the youth sent to Eritrea from the people of Somalia anymore," Mohamud said. "The leaders are the ones who face the people & tell them the truth even if it is bitter. Bring back the boys."

Somali government had distanced itself from the accusations, saying Ethiopia did not request troops to help fight in Tigray region.