Authorities Bring Back 826 Nationals Stranded in Saudi Arabia

ADDIS ABABA – Ethiopia has repatriated about 826 its nationals, most of them women and children, from Saudi Arabia, says Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday.

The repatriation is part of an ongoing effort to bring Ethiopians living in difficult situations abroad back home, according to the spokesperson Office of the Ministry.

The Ethiopians, most of them women and children, were flown back from Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, via two flights that arrived at Addis Ababa on Thursday and Friday afternoon, it added.

Foreign Ministry’s officials welcomed the returnees, including 259 children, upon their arrival at Bole International Airport.

At least three weekly flights are currently being conducted to bring back Ethiopians stranded in the gulf nation in recent months.

This week alone, a total of 1160 Ethiopian nationals, including the 334 nationals airlifted on Tuesday, came back to their country from the Gulf Nation.