Ethiopia demands probe into migrant killings at Saudi-Yemeni border
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The Ethiopian Foreign Ministry announces that Ethiopia will initiate an inquiry into a report by Human Rights Watch highlighting the mass killings of hundreds of Ethiopian migrants by Saudi border guards.
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An Ethiopian immigrant working in construction in Saudi Arabia (AFP)
The government of Ethiopia has announced its intention to promptly investigate the mass killings of Ethiopian nationals at the Saudi-Yemeni border in coordination with Saudi authorities. This statement was made on platform X, formerly known as Twitter, a day after the HRW report was released, which triggered worldwide outrage.
The accusations, refuted by a Saudi government source as "unfounded", highlight a surge in mistreatment along the perilous journey from the Horn of Africa to Saudi Arabia, where a significant Ethiopian population resides and works.
According to accounts gathered by HRW, one 20-year-old woman from Ethiopia's Oromia region recounted that Saudi border guards shot at a group of migrants shortly after releasing them from custody, describing the experience as "traumatic".
— The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of #Ethiopia 🇪🇹 (@mfaethiopia) August 22, 2023
The United States, a longstanding ally of Riyadh, called for a comprehensive and transparent investigation into the allegations. A Saudi government source rejected the claims in the report, stating they lacked reliable sources, as per AFP.
While the report raised significant concerns, the United Nations spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, acknowledged the difficulty in substantiating the "serious" allegations. For nearly a decade, the New York-based human rights group has documented abuses against Ethiopian migrants. The current spate of killings, it asserted, exhibits signs of being "widespread and systematic," possibly amounting to crimes against humanity.
In the previous year, UN experts reported unsettling claims that Saudi Arabian security forces engaged in cross-border artillery shelling and small-arms fire, leading to the deaths of roughly 430 migrants in southern Saudi Arabia and northern Yemen during the initial four months of 2022.
Repatriation of Ethiopians from Saudi Arabia began in March of that year under an agreement between the two nations. Ethiopia's Foreign Ministry anticipated around 100,000 citizens returning home over an extended period.
Read next: 'Like rain': Saudi forces killed hundreds of Ethiopian migrants - HRW
