Civilians repatriated

Seventy-four Eritreans and 153 Ethiopians were repatriated over the past few days from Ethiopia and Eritrea respectively, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Tuesday. The ICRC assisted the civilians - three of whom were sick - to return home in two separate operations on 13 and 17 June. They were the latest people to be repatriated following a border war between the two countries that flared up in May 1998 and ended two and a half years ago. The Eritreans, who were reunited with their families, included a young boy, a 15-year-old girl and two elderly people. “All persons were transferred to the border between the towns of Rama in Ethiopia and Adi Quala in Eritrea under the supervision of ICRC delegates respectively based in Ethiopia and Eritrea,” the ICRC said in a statement. “ICRC teams awaited each group at the crossing point and provided the necessary assistance before entrusting them into the care of the relevant authorities.” The ICRC added that Red Cross teams from both countries provided food and water to the repatriated people as they arrived. It said it would continue to help people affected by the war, under the 1949 Geneva Conventions.