— Some Tigrayan troops have refused to return home after serving as peacekeepers in the disputed Abyei region on the border between Sudan and South Sudan because they fear for their safety, according to the Ethiopian military. Ethiopian troops made up the majority of the 4,000-strong peacekeeping force in oil-rich Abyei, although Sudan was opposed to the presence of Ethiopians as peacekeepers. “We defected because we want to raise awareness about the siege in the Tigray region,” Gebrie Kidane, a peacekeeper who is now seeking asylum in Sudan, told The Associated Press. At least 100 Ethiopian peacekeepers deployed to Sudan's Darfur region defected and asked for asylum in May 2021. Even some Tigrayan members of the Ethiopian army have been detained.

Source: Ethiopian News April 29, 2022 21:57 UTC