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Ethiopia Releases 97 Eritrean Prisoners of War
Ninety-seven Eritrean prisoners of war (POWs) left Saturday morning for Asmara, capital of Eritrea, by a Boeing 727 chartered by the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC).
This is the first batch of Eritrean POWs released by Ethiopia since the country signed a comprehensive peace agreement with Eritrea in Algiers, Algeria on December 12 to put an end to a two-year border conflict between the two countries.
Laetitia de Radigues, spokesperson of the ICRC, told Xinhua that following the release of the first batch of Eritrean POWs, the second batch, amounting to 129, will leave for Asmara later in the day.
The release of the third batch of Eritrean POWs will take place on Sunday, De Radigues said.
The released Eritrean POWs, many of them wounded, wore the same clothes offered by the ICRC. They were not allowed to talk to journalists when they were waiting for departure.
Meanwhile, some 90 Ethiopian POWs are expected to arrive in Addis Ababa from Asmara by a plane chartered by the ICRC Saturday afternoon, De Radigues said.
A welcome ceremony is to be held at Addis Ababa International Airport upon the arrival of Ethiopian POWs, according to Ethiopian government officials.
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