ICRC successfully repatriates over 5,000

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it had assisted in the repatriation of some 570 people of Ethiopian origin from Eritrea. Under ICRC auspices, the operation took place on 9 February between the Ethio-Eritrea border towns of Adi Quale and Rama at a crossing point on the Mereb river. Most of the returnees were families from the Eritrean capital, Asmara, said an ICRC bulletin on 15 February.

According to the ICRC, the families were transferred to the border after expressing their wish to return to Ethiopia. They were transferred under the supervision of ICRC delegates based in Eritrea and with the help of the Eritrean Red Cross. A team of ICRC delegates based in Ethiopia met the families on the other side, and, with the aid of the Ethiopian Red Cross, provided them with assistance before handing them over to the authorities.

The ICRC said a similar operation for 873 persons took place on 3 February 2001. Since early December last year, four other operations have been carried out in which more than 5,110 Ethiopian civilians, mainly former internees, were successfully repatriated under ICRC auspices, the bulletin said.