Eritrea/Ethiopia: Over 100 Ethiopian civilians repatriated
19-12-2003 News Release 03/161
On 19 December, 129 Ethiopian civilians returned from Eritrea to Ethiopia under the auspices of the ICRC. The group crossed the border on a bridge over the Mereb river, between the towns of Adi Quala, in Eritrea, and Rama, on the Ethiopian side.
Those repatriated included five minors and two elderly women, who are now back with their families.
ICRC delegates based in Eritrea accompanied the Ethiopian civilians on the first leg of their journey. At the crossing point, the group was met by ICRC staff based in Ethiopia before being placed in the care of the Ethiopian authorities. Volunteers from the Ethiopian Red Cross Society and an ambulance team from the Red Cross Society of Eritrea also took part in the operation.
The ICRC will continue to assist people affected by the recent armed conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea and will strive to ensure compliance with the rules and principles of international humanitarian law, in particular the 1949 Geneva Conventions.
For further information, please contact:
Marçal Izard, ICRC Asmara, tel. +2911 181 164
Layla Berlemont Shtewi, ICRC Addis Ababa, tel. +2511 518 366