That is the number of Ethiopians who have returned to the country in an orderly and safe manner from November 21, 2022 to that date, the cabinet said after reporting on social media about the latest batch of returnees.
In the last three flights operated this Friday, 1,173 people returned, a group made up of 1,135 men and five women, in addition to 33 children or adolescents under the age of 18, he explained.
According to the official text, the repatriation program will continue and people will be housed in makeshift shelters in this capital, where they will have to comply with established health protocols before beginning the social reintegration process.
As always, it is our goal and that of the various institutions in the country to manage family reunification and reintegration in their places of origin according to their capacities and abilities, the statement said.
The repatriation, which was later suspended for several weeks, began on March 30 after consultations between representatives of both countries, who finalized all the logistical and legal details of the process in Riyadh, the Saudi capital.
Before resuming on November 21, official reports assured that in the first round of the program, 71,697 people returned safely and legally on 198 flights, of the 102,000 aspiring to return to Ethiopia.
A registry carried out before repatriation began revealed that around 750,000 Ethiopians were living in Saudi Arabia, of whom 300,000 were living legally and 450,000 undocumented, living in appalling conditions or being imprisoned.
ro/raj