Eastern Ethiopia intercept 4,000 migrants in two years

ADDIS ABABA, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Police in Ethiopia's eastern Harari regional state have intercepted about 4,000 Ethiopian migrants in the last two years, a local official said on Wednesday.

Speaking to journalists, Tassew Chalew, public relations director at Harari police commission, said the migrants were intercepted on their way to be smuggled to Middle East.

Chalew said the police has been able to reduce the number of migrants transiting through the area by arresting several human traffickers.

It is estimated that thousands of Ethiopians are trafficked into foreign countries annually.

The human trafficking goes through three different routes, with the northern one going through Sudan, Libya and Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe.

The second route goes east through Somalia, Djibouti and the Red Sea to reach Saudi Arabia.

The third ones goes south through Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique to reach South Africa. Enditem