528 Tigrayan peacekeepers in Abyei refuse to return to Ethiopia

April 24, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – About 528 Ethiopian troops working in the UN peacekeeping force in Abyei (UNISFA) have requested political asylum in Sudan after refusing to return home.

According to the Agence France Press, Major Gebre Kidane, a Tigrayan ex-peacekeeper disclosed that 528 Ethiopian soldiers from the Tigray region refused to return to Ethiopia expressing fears for their safety

“A number of peacekeepers have chosen not to return and are seeking international protection. They are being protected by the UN in a secure location,” Kidane told the AFP, also two other peacekeepers confirmed the defection.

“The responsibility to grant asylum lies with the Sudanese authorities who are being assisted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in receiving these individuals,” he added.

Upon Sudan’s request the 4200- Ethiopian troops have been replaced by peacekeepers from several African countries and Bangladesh, starting from February 2022.

Kidane said they decided to apply for asylum in early March, citing fears for their life.

He said that Tigrayans peacekeepers who returned to Ethiopia were arrested and others killed.

Rights groups reported that Ethiopian authorities purged Tigrayan officers after the eruption of the civil war in the Tigray region in November 2020.

Already in February 2021, some 15 peacekeepers from Tigray applied for political asylum. They were followed by some 100 others in April 2021.

Sudan requested to replace the Ethiopian force in Abyei after the border clashes that erupted by the end of 2020 between the two countries.

(ST)