Some 335 Ethiopian Migrants Airlifted from Saudi Arabia

ADDIS ABABA – At least 335 Ethiopian migrants brought  back home on Wednesday from Saudi Arabia as the government continued its repatriation push.

This is the second repatriation flight from the gulf nation this week with about 425 Ethiopians airlifted  on Monday.

Both flights were originated from City of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, according to the Spokesperson office of ministry foreign affairs.

The ongoing repatriation drive is a part of government effort to bring back Ethiopian nationals who are living in difficult situations abroad, the office added.

In the previous two weeks, more than 2, 480 Ethiopians have been repatriated from Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

Migrants from the Horn of Africa often travel to Yemen across the Gulf of Aden in hopes of traveling further and reaching Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states to seek work there.

Some 138,000 people made the journey to Yemen in 2019. This number fell to 37,000 in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, many of the migrants end up becoming stuck in war-torn Yemeni or Saudi Arabia’s detention centers for illegal entry.