Ethiopian authorities have detained 48 Eritrean illegal migrants. Reportedly, the migrants entered Ethiopia recently.
According to Ethiopian immigration agency, 48 Eritrean illegal migrants were detained in the South Omo Zone while attempting to travel through the area after having crossed the Ethiopia Eritrea border. The individuals entered Ethiopia via northern frontier without proper authorization. Thousands of Eritreans illegally cross into Ethiopia every year. Mainly they enter the Tigray region of Ethiopia. From Tigray, they try to move towards central and southern Ethiopia. Most of they use Ethiopia as a transit to reach other countries in Africa or Europe. Tens of thousands of Eritreans flee their country annually due to poverty, authoritarian rule, and mandatory indefinite national service.
Human trafficking networks are operating in Eritrea Ethiopia border areas. Recently, Ethiopian federal government accused Tigray People’s Liberation Front of running human trafficking networks in Tigray-Eritrea border areas.
