Umamah Bakharia | ub@radioislam.co.za

2 min read
13 December 2022 | 16:30 CAT

Ethiopia’s government says it will investigate the deaths of 27 of its citizens that were found dumped near Lusaka in Zambia.

Photo credit: Africa News

Zambian police said they found the bodies of the 27 men on Sunday in the outskirts of the Chongwe Ngwerere village.  Authorities say they died from suspected hunger and exhaustion and are believed to be migrants from Ethiopia.

Ethiopia News Agency reports that its country would send experts to the area to confirm the identities of the deceased who reportedly died while attempting to cross into South Africa illegally.

Zambian police said preliminary investigations showed the deceased were all aged between 20 and 38, adding that their bodies had been dumped along a road by unknown people.

Officers found a 28th man “gasping for breath,” and took him to the hospital, however his condition is still unknown.

Condemning the incident, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said it was “profoundly shocked and alarmed” by the discovery.

Meanwhile, according to the Missing Migrants Project, more than 900 Ethiopians have died on migration routes since 2014.