Mass exodus of Djibouti aliens

2003-09-12 13:28

Djibouti - At least 80 000 illegal immigrants have left the east African country of Djibouti since late July, when the government issued an ultimatum for them to leave or be deported, interior ministry official Mohamed Ahemed Gueda said Friday.

"The number concerns only people who have passed the border posts of Loyada into Somalia or Guelile and Galafi into Ethiopia," he said.

"It does not include the trails used by people along the border," he added.

In late July, the authorities in Djibouti gave illegal immigrants, mostly from Somalia and Ethiopia, until midnight on September 1 to leave the small but relatively prosperous east African country.

The deadline was later extended to September 15.

Djibouti authorities, who have justified the forced exodus on security and economic grounds, said that once the deadline has passed, police will begin rounding up immigrants and deporting them.

- AFP