The fighting between Eritrea and Ethiopia, which started on 12 May 1998, reportedly ended with the signing of a cease-fire agreement brokered by OAU and signed in Algiers, Morocco, on 18 June 2000, by Ethiopia and Eritrea (AI 7 July 2000; PANA 23 Oct. 2000).

Nonetheless deportations appear to have continued between August 2000 and November 2000. According to Hadas Eritrea, "some 180 Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean descent were deported by the weyane (Ethiopian) clique arrived in Eritrea across the Mereb River on 18 November" (22 Nov. 2000). Hadas Eritrea further states that,

The deportees said they had been denied employment for over two years and left with no means to survive. Furthermore, they said the weyane clique refused to let them go to their country. They said they had been suffering at the hands of the weyane clique after they were forcibly separated from their family members who had been deported previously by the weyane. One deported father said the was left behind with his son after his wife was deported and now he was being forcibly expelled by weyane, leaving his son in a weyane prison (ibid.).

Radio Ethiopia External Service indicates that 172 people, previously living in Addis Ababa, "contacted the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in order to liaise with Ethiopian authorities to organize their departure and transport to Eritrea" (20 Nov. 2000).

In the month of August 2000, the Ethiopian authorities reportedly deported approximately 3, 824 Eritreans (Erina 30 Aug. 2001, Voice of the Broad Masses of Eritrea 29 July 2000).According to The New York Times, Ethiopia and Eritrea formally ended the two-year old fighting when they signed an internationally brokered peace agreement in Algiers on 12 December 2000 (13 Dec. 2000). The peace agreement "set up commissions to mark the 600-mile border, exchange prisoners, return displaced people and hear claims for compensations for war damage." Under the terms of this agreement, about 4,200 United Nations peacekeepers were "due to be deployed inside a buffer zone before February to consolidate peace" (ibid.). For additional information on this topic please consult ERT36326.E of 16 February 2001.

No mention of deportations of Ethiopians of Eritrean descent after December 2000 could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Amnesty International. 7 July 2000. "Ethiopia: Cease-Fire And Human Rights." (Africa News/NEXIS)

Erina News Agency [Asmara in English]. 30 August 2000. "Ethiopia Deports 24 Eritreans Across Mereb River, Eritrea Says." (BBC Summary 30 Aug. 2000/NEXIS)

Hadas Eritrea [Asmara in Tigrinya]. 22 Nov. 2000. "Deported Eritreans Arrive Home, Complain of Mistreatment." (BBC Summary/NEXIS)

The New York Times. 13 December 2000. "Eritreans and Ethiopians Sign Treaty to End Their Border War." (NEXIS)

Panafrican News Agency (PANA). 23 October 2000. "Ethiopia: Ethiopia, Eritrea to Resume Peace Talks in Algiers." (Africa News/NEXIS)

Radio Ethiopia External Service [Addis Ababa in English]. 20 November 2000. "Ethiopia Deports 172 Eritreans." (BBC World Monitoring 20 Nov. 2000/NEXIS)

Voice of the Broad Masses of Eritrea [Asmara in Tigrinya]. 29 July 2000. "Ethiopian Army Reportedly Deports 3,800 Eritreans from Home Area. (BBC Summary 3 Aug. 2000/NEXIS)

Africa Research Bulletin.

Africa Confidential.

Keesing's Record of World Events.

IRB Databases. LEXIS/NEXIS.

Resource Centre. Country File. Ethiopia.

Internet sites including,

All Africa News.

Relief Web