Saudi deports Ethiopian migrants, risks spreading coronavirus

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has begun deportation of illegal Ethiopian workers to Addis Ababa.

This was disclosed in an internal memo released by the UN.

The memo revealed that Saudi Arabia was planning to deport about 200,000 Ethiopian migrants.

According to Catherine Sozi, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Ethiopia, this move is risky following its potential to contribute to the spread of coronavirus.

“Other Gulf Arab states, Kenya and other neighbouring countries are also expected to repatriate Ethiopian migrants.” he said.

“Large-scale migratory movements which are not planned make the transmission of the virus much more likely to continue. We are therefore calling for the temporary suspension of large-scale deportations,” Sozi added.

The kingdom’s media ministry is yet to respond to a request for comment.

Saudi Arabia, which has a population of around 30 million people, has so far reported 4,934 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, with 65 deaths.

Ethiopia, with a population of 105 million, only has 74 coronavirus cases and just two deaths and it urged Riyadh to suspend the practice for the time being.