Refugee repatriation stopped

Citing security reasons, the Ethiopian government at the weekend stopped the repatriation of 1,100 refugees from neighbouring Eritrea, a spokesman of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) told IRIN on Monday. The spokesman said the reason for the decision was because the Mereb River along the border was swollen by heavy rains in the Rama district of northern Ethiopia, and too dangerous to cross. According to news reports, the Ethiopian authorities also said they were concerned about landmines on the Eritrean side of the border near an alternative crossing point at Zala Anbesa in north central Ethiopia. “We are busy negotiating this with the authorities concerned and we accept that the river is too swollen at the moment,” the spokesman said.

But in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, a foreign ministry statement at the weekend accused Ethiopia of unilaterally stopping the repatriation. “Yet again, the Ethiopian government has created matters to complicate and deter the requested repatriation of its citizens to their home country,” it said. “By doing so, the regime in Addis Ababa persists in the violating the individual rights of its own citizens as well as major international laws and conventions protecting these peoples’ rights as citizens of that state.” Eritrea said it suspected “ulterior motives” for the decision. Nearly 10,000 Ethiopians have been repatriated since 20 June following a ceasefire in the two-year border war between the two countries.