Why do people flee Eritrea?
Eritrea emerged from its long war of independence in 1993 only to plunge once again into military conflict, first with Yemen and then, more devastatingly, with its old adversary, Ethiopia. During the war between Ethiopia and its former province Eritrea tens of thousands of Eritrean and Ethiopian refugees have sought sanctuary in the arid states of Kassala, Gedaref, Gezira, Sennar and Red Sea over the past 40 years. Many crossed to Sudan during the 30-year war between Ethiopia and its then province Eritrea, which gained independence in 1993. Hostilities continued between the neighbours until 2000, when a peace treaty was signed and some 98,000 Eritreans returned home under a UNHCR voluntary repatriation programme. But the flow stopped and reversed amid a deteriorating political and human rights situation in Eritrea. Scores of Eritrean asylum seekers now cross into Sudan every week, joining some 130,000 of their compatriots living in 12 refugee camps as well as urban and rural areas. The
