Eritrea has been registered on the list of countries that force their citizens to flee their home land.

In a press conference he gave on Monday, Ayalew Aweke said some 3,647 Eritreans have fled to Ethiopia last year, while 570 have entered to Ethiopian over the past 40 days alone.

The deputy Director said that some 1,389 of the Eritrean refugees who fled to Ethiopia from September 2006 to September 2007 were Eritrean soldiers.

Among the civilian Etitreans who fled Eritrea to Ethiopia during the stated period, 1,048 were University, secondary and primary school students and the remaining 151 were civil servants.

The Deputy Director recalled that 300 Eritreans, on average, used to fled to Ethiopia each month over the past years, and added that the number of Eritreans entering to Ethiopia has drastically increased recently.

Accordingly, some 570 Eritrean soldiers and civilians entered to Ethiopia over the past 40 days alone, he said.

Of the total 15,638 Eritrean, who fled Eritrea over the past few years and sheltered at the Shimelwa refugee camp in Tigray state, 4,231 were reported to be Eritrean government soldiers, while the rest are students and civil servants.

Various measures aimed at resolving problems of the refugees are underway, the Deputy Director said, and added that about 2,000 Eritrean refugees have so far been enabled to get asylum in the United States and various European countries.

Moreover, close to 1,200 Eritrean refugees were enabled to communicate with their relatives residing abroad.

Owing to the increasing number of Eritrean refugees fleeing to Ethiopia for political motivations, the government has been making efforts to improve things at the refugee camp as of the past year, the Deputy Director said.

Donor countries and humanitarian organizations have also shown willingness to provide assistance for the Eritreans at the refugee camp, he said.

The government has also been facilitating ways through which the refugees could be rehabilitated in a sustainable manner, he said and noted that the refugees were allowed to be enrolled to private and government owned higher learning institutions, if they are able to cover the tuition fees.

Pertinent government bodies are currently discussing ways to improve provision of various services at refugee centers, the Deputy Director added.

The UNHCR recently reported from Sudan that the exodus out of Eritrea is reaching alarming stages.

R-11:00-11:31

E- 1:00-1:10

---END---