ICRC repatriating Ethiopian internees

In an operation carried out with the cooperation of the Eritrean and Ethiopian governments, 1,135 Ethiopians who had been interned in a camp near Asmara have been repatriated under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross, an ICRC spokesperson told IRIN on Tuesday. The repatriation was carried out by ICRC teams from Asmara and Ethiopia. Several thousand Ethiopian nationals were interned by the Eritrean authorities after the resumption of fighting with Ethiopia on 12 May. The Eritreans said the internment was for the Ethiopians’ own protection and for security reasons.

The Eritrean Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday that the ICRC-sponsored repatriation programme had resulted in the safe return of 8,000 Ethiopians to their home country. It accused Addis Ababa of refusing to accord similar cooperation and respect for the rights of Eritrean residents in Ethiopia, who it said were being evicted from their homes and deported by the thousands. The statement said a total of 71,449 Eritreans had been forcibly deported from Ethiopia since the conflict began.