"The Government of Ethiopia will promptly investigate the incident in tandem with the Saudi authorities," the ministry said on X, formerly known as Twitter, a day after the publication of the HRW report. A Saudi official said on Monday that the allegations in the HRW report were "unfounded". "We welcome the announcement by the government of Ethiopia specifically to investigate the whole issue together with the authorities in Saudi Arabia," spokesman Peter Stano told reporters. Last year, UN experts reported "concerning allegations" that "cross-border artillery shelling and small-arms fire by Saudi Arabia security forces killed approximately 430 migrants" in southern Saudi Arabia and northern Yemen during the first four months of 2022. In March of that year, the repatriation of Ethiopians from Saudi Arabia began under an agreement between the two countries.

Source: Ethiopian News August 22, 2023 17:50 UTC