129 Ethiopians repatriated
2003-12-20 22:13
Addis Ababa - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) this week repatriated 129 Ethiopian nationals from Eritrea, the agency said in a statement obtained by AFP on Saturday.
Those repatriated on Thursday went home across a new bridge built by the United Nations on the Mereb river, a natural frontier between the two Horn of Africa neighbours.
"Those repatriated included seven reunited family members," the statement said.
Each of the two countries expelled thousands of "enemy" nationals during their 1998 to 2000 border war.
Since the end of war in 2000, around 1 500 Eritreans and more than 2 000 Ethiopians have been returned to their countries.