Over 1120 Ethiopians Return Home from Saudi

ADDIS ABABA – At least 1128 Ethiopians have been repatriated from Saudi Arabia on Friday.

All the returnees, airlifted on three occasions today, are male, says the spokesperson office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The new arrivals have brought the number of Ethiopians repatriated from the gulf nation to more than 12, 800.

Authorities started repatriating Ethiopian nationals from Saudi Arabia on March 30, with a plan to repatriate 102, 000 of its citizens within 11 months.

Most of them are still in Saudi Arabia’s detention centres and prison for illegal entry.

It is estimated that about 750,000 Ethiopians currently reside in Saudi Arabia with about 450,000 likely to have travelled to the country through irregular means.