Ethiopian civilians repatriated

One Hundred and eighty-five Ethiopian civilians were repatriated from Eritrea on 10 May, according to a press statement from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

It said the operation took place under the auspices of ICRC at a crossing point on the Mereb river between the towns Adi Kwala in southern Eritrea and Rama in northern Ethiopia. "Acting in its capacity as a neutral and independent intermediary, the ICRC carried out this operation in accordance with its standard procedures," said the statement. "Volunteers from the Ethiopian Red Cross Society and the Red Cross Society of Eritrea also assisted in the operation, in particular by providing drinking water and food on their respective sides of the border."

The civilians were met by a team of ICRC delegates based in Ethiopia, who then handed them over to the Ethiopian authorities, the statement added.

In it press statement the ICRC said, that it "will continue to assist any person affected by the recent international armed conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and to promote the application and respect of rules and principles of international Humanitarian Law, in particular the Geneva Conventions of 1949."

The ICRC has repatriated around 56,800 Ethiopians from Eritrea since the end of 2000. But hundreds of prisoners of war and detainees are still held in both Ethiopia and Eritrea almost two years since the end of their bloody border war. Just days ago, the vice-president of the ICRC, Jacques Forster, expressed concern over the slowdown in prisoners of war being allowed to go home.