afrol News, 10 November - Last Friday, 77 Eritrean civilians returned from Ethiopia to Eritrea. The group was assisted crossing the otherwise closed border by the Red Cross/Crescent, which also assisted in the reunification with family members in Eritrea.

According to the Red Cross/Crescent, the border crossing happened on a bridge over the Mereb River, between the towns of Rama in Ethiopia and Adi Quala on the Eritrean side. Those repatriated included four minors, who are now back with their families.

Red Cross delegates based in Ethiopia accompanied the Eritrean civilians on the first leg of their journey. Eritrea-based Red Cross staff met them at the crossing point and they were placed in the care of the Eritrean authorities.

Volunteers from the Ethiopian Red Cross Society and the Red Cross Society of Eritrea also took part in the operation, helping to carry luggage and handing out water.

The Red Cross/Crescent today stated it would "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."

The so-called "repatriation of Eritrean civilians from Ethiopia" has been a controversial exercise. Large numbers of civilians that have lived their entire life in Ethiopia reportedly have been declared Eritreans by Ethiopian authorities and forcibly "repatriated". The Red Cross did not take part in this mass expulsion, however.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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