Malawi continues repatriation of Ethiopian nationals
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E-mail Xinhua, November 3, 2022
LILONGWE, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- Malawi is this week repatriating 344 Ethiopian nationals who were being held in various prison facilities under immigration custody for illegal entry into the country, Malawian immigration authority announced Tuesday.
Spokesperson for the Department of Immigration and Citizen Services, Pasqually Zulu, said in a statement his department will carry out the repatriation exercise with assistance from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
He said the repatriation will be done in two phases, first on Tuesday with a total of 156 Ethiopian nationals through the Kamuzu International Airport (KIA), and the second phase on Thursday with 188 Ethiopian nationals through the same airport.
Zulu said the exercise is aimed at "decongesting our country's prisons amid food shortage, COVID-19 and Cholera outbreak."
The repatriation of Ethiopian nationals from Malawi began in August after it had been delayed by two months due to logistical challenges, according to Zulu.
In August alone, a total of 280 Ethiopian nationals, among them over 100 minors, were repatriated to their homeland, while in September, nearly 200 nationals were repatriated.
According to the Malawi Immigration spokesperson, the exercise "is being done with proactive coordination" between the government of Ethiopia and the government of Malawi.
For decades Malawi continues to receive migrants who enter the country illegally, specifically from the Great Lakes Region and the Horn of Africa, and they use the sub-Saharan country as a transit route to other countries.
In October a mass grave of 25 bodies of Ethiopian nationals was found by villagers in Mzimba district, about 250 km north of the capital, Lilongwe.
Four more bodies were later found near the mass grave and authorities suspect that the Ethiopian nationals, who are believed to be aged between 25 and 40, died of suffocation as they were illegally being transported through the country.
In June 2012, at least 47 Ethiopian nationals drowned on Lake Malawi in the northern border district of Karonga when the boat they were sailing in from Tanzania capsized. Enditem
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