Ethiopia is working hard behind the scenes to assist in the return of 541 nationals back to their homeland, the country’s foreign ministry announced on Friday.
This comes after the government responded to the worrying trend of Ethiopian immigrants being stranded or detained in Tanzania while attempting to make it to South Africa
This is what the foreign ministry spokesman, Mr, Nebiat Getachew, had to say about the whole affair:
“We’re finalising preparations to return our 541 nationals from Tanzania, who have already received travel documents necessary to return to Ethiopia in the coming few days,”
In a separate incident, the Ethiopian press announced that the Tanzanian government had released more than 1900 Ethiopian prisoners.
However, details have yet to be revealed where the nationals are being held.
Crackdown on Illegal Immigration
Over the year, Ethiopian authorities have been hampering the illegal immigration of its citizens by employing stricter anti-trafficking laws as well as threatening to ban any forms of unlicensed immigration.
However, this remains a tough nut to crack as over 24 percent of Ethiopians live below the poverty line.