By Nafisa EltahirKHARTOUM (Reuters) - Up to 550 Ethiopian peacekeepers working in Sudan have sought asylum rather than return home for fear they will be persecuted due to their Tigrayan ethnicity, an official with direct knowledge of the plan said on Tuesday. The soldiers, numbering between 525 to 550, were part of a U.N. peacekeeping force working in Abyei, a contested oil-rich area on Sudan's border with South Sudan, the official working in refugee response told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Ethiopian government spokesperson Legesse Tulu and military spokesman Col. Getnet Adane did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment on the soldiers seeking asylum. At the beginning of the conflict, Tigrayan police and soldiers were disarmed and put in secure areas. The government has repeatedly said it is fighting against the TPLF and not Tigrayans in general.

Source: Ethiopian News April 26, 2022 20:42 UTC