Nearly 1, 350 Ethiopians Return Home as Saudi Airlift Continues

ADDIS ABABA – At least 1, 346 Ethiopians have returned from Saudi Arabia as the repatriation push continues on Monday.

Three flights with a total of 1, 346 people onboard have arrived at Addis Ababa today, announced the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The entire arrivals are all women and children, it added.

Ethiopia started bringing its nationals from the gulf nation on March 30, with a plan to repatriate more than 102, 000 of its citizens living in dire situations in Saudi Arabia.

To date, over 7, 700 people have come back home.

The repatriation will continue for at least seven months, according to a committee in charge of leaving the overall task. It involves at least three daily flights in three days of each week.

Reports say 750,000 Ethiopian nationals currently reside in Saudi Arabia with about 450,000 of them may not have legal documents.