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Djibouti Hands Over Eritrean Officers To Government |
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By Gedab News -
Dec 31, 2004
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Five Eritrean officers who had defected to Djibouti and sought political asylum were returned to Eritrea on December 29, after Djibouti officials handed them over to Eritrean government officials. The five officers, whose names have not been disclosed, had entered Djibouti by crossing the Eritrea-Djibouti border at Obukh. Soon after their arrival, the Eritrean government dispatched its senior officials to Djibouti who prevailed upon the Djibouti officials to deny the Eritrean officers political asylum. This is the first known case of Eritrean officers attempting to defect to Djibouti. Over the last four years, there have been documented reports of Eritreans fleeing by the thousands to Sudan, Malta, Italy, Saudi Arabia (Gizan), Yemen and Ethiopia. The latter, according to UNHCR, receives 250 Eritrean refugees per month, who are housed at makeshift tents in Tigray State. |
