Ethiopia on Wednesday repatriated 498 undocumented migrants from Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia as part of its first renewed operation to bring back citizens from the gulf nation.
The government will continue repatriating Ethiopian nationals from Saudi Arabia on voluntary basis,” Dina Mufti, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the media in a briefing.
He said the government is set to repatriate all Ethiopian nationals from the oil rich nation with the effort involving up to three flights per a day
The government of Ethiopia recently announced plans to repatriate close to 100,000 citizens who are living in hostile conditions in Saudi Arabia within in a period 7 to 11 months.
In Wednesday’s repatriation program, 498 Ethiopians have returned home, of whom 157 are children and 341 women.
According to Ministry of Foreign Affairs, over 750,000 Ethiopians are living in Saudi Arabia out of whom 450,000 are residing in the Kingdom without documents.
“My baby suffered from a disease. We saw children dying before us due to starvation. Many old people have died. We are grateful that we returned our country. I wish others who are still there to come home quickly” Usman told APA.
MG/abj/APA