Some 40 former peacekeepers hailing from Ethiopia’s war-wracked Tigray region arrived in eastern Sudan after seeking asylum. Last month, more than 500 UN peacekeepers who were deployed in the disputed Abyei region between Sudan and South Sudan asked Khartoum for asylum, citing fears for their safety if they were to return home. An official with Sudan’s refugee commission confirmed that hundreds of Ethiopian peacekeepers requested asylum after the end of their mission in Abyei. The Abyei region has been contested since South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011. The United Nations established a peacekeeping mission that year and has since deployed some 4,000 mainly Ethiopian peacekeepers to the region.

Source: Ethiopian News May 16, 2022 20:16 UTC