Press Release
TPLF Regime Resumes Mass Deportation of Eritreans

One thousand four hundred ten Eritrean civilians deported from Addis Ababa arrived at the port city of Assab early yesterday morning. The Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean origin were expelled through the Burie front line, 70 kilometers west of Assab. The deportees included expectant mothers, children and several handicapped and gravely ill people. A large number of the deportees had lived their entire life in Ethiopia and carried Ethiopian passports. They said they had been arrested and detained for periods ranging from three days to ten months prior to their deportation.

Reliable sources in Addis Ababa are reporting that the TPLF regime is commencing another round of arbitrary arrest and deportation of Eritreans. This group of Eritreans is thought to be only the first batch of some 15,000 Eritreans who remain destitute in Addis Ababa and who will be deported in the coming days.

Many of the expelled Eritreans had been separated from family members who had been deported earlier and said they had become virtually destitute having been denied employment and, in many cases, thrown out of their homes. They said the situation remains desperate for many Eritreans who have lost all means of income but have been prevented from leaving Ethiopia.=20

Local journalists in Assab reported that seven of the deportees are currently in Assab Hospital recovering from heat exhaustion, dehydration and other conditions associated with the difficult journey.

Yesterday's arrivals bring the two day total to 3,000. Thirty one Eritreans were also expelled from Tigray between June 23 and July 3 after having their property confiscated. To date, the TPLF regime has deported 60,000 Eritreans from Ethiopia based on their ethnicity.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Asmara, 6 July 1999