ICRC repatriates 204 Ethiopians

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it had carried out the repatriation of 204 persons of Ethiopian origin from Eritrea. The operation took place at the Mereb river between the towns of Adi Kwala, southern Eritrea, and Rama, northern Ethiopia, the pro-Ethiopian government Walta Information Centre said on 10 August. According to a press statement by the ICRC, the Ethiopians were primarily from Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, and surrounding areas, and had expressed their willingness to be repatriated during private interviews. A team of ICRC delegates based in Ethiopia, supported by staff of the Ethiopian Red Cross, received them at the border crossing and provided them with necessary assistance. Meanwhile, commenting on the situation of repatriation of prisoners-of-war (POWs), the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Legwaila Joseph Legwaila, said both Ethiopia and Eritrea were required to release POWs according to the terms of the peace agreement signed in Algiers on 12 December 2000. Addressing journalists from both countries, Legwaila said at a joint press conference at the Mereb river on 9 August that the process should not be held up over complaints by either side. He was referring to the recent halt in returning POWs, following complaints by Ethiopia that Eritrea had not satisfactorily accounted for the whereabouts of an Ethiopian pilot and 36 others, and the subsequent response by the Eritreans. “While Ethiopia is waiting for an explanation on Petros [the pilot] and the other 36, they have to continue releasing prisoners of war... That is what the Geneva Conventions say they must do.”