Ethiopian authorities detain more than 70 U.N. drivers, amid reports of mass arrests (Reuters)
Posted: 10 Nov 2021, 08:26
NAIROBI, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Ethiopian authorities have detained more than 70 drivers working with the United Nations, a U.N. spokesperson said, amid international alarm over reported widespread arrests of ethnic Tigrayans as the war in the country's north escalates.
The ethnicity of the 72 drivers was not clear. The U.N. spokesperson said the drivers are contractors of the U.N.'s World Food Programme (WFP) and were arrested in Semera, the capital city of Afar region.
Government spokesperson Legesse Tulu and foreign affairs ministry spokesperson Dina Mufti did not respond to a request for comment on the drivers' detention.
Afar borders the Tigray region, where conflict broke out a year ago between federal troops and forces loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the region's former ruling party.
Continue reading https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/et ... 021-11-10/
The ethnicity of the 72 drivers was not clear. The U.N. spokesperson said the drivers are contractors of the U.N.'s World Food Programme (WFP) and were arrested in Semera, the capital city of Afar region.
Government spokesperson Legesse Tulu and foreign affairs ministry spokesperson Dina Mufti did not respond to a request for comment on the drivers' detention.
Afar borders the Tigray region, where conflict broke out a year ago between federal troops and forces loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the region's former ruling party.
Continue reading https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/et ... 021-11-10/