More than 200 risk their lives every day, UN says, crossing a heavily-fortified border between arch enemy states.   Over 200 Eritrean refugees are crossing the heavily fortified and dangerous border into neighbouring Ethiopia daily, the United Nations said in a report noting a “spike” in those fleeing. Tens of …

Two opposition members tell the Guardian how Eritreans are becoming increasingly disillusioned with the repressive regime Eritrea’s president, Isaias Afewerki, runs a one-party state and brooks no opposition. Photograph: James Akena/Reuters Eritrea is the most closed and repressive country in Africa, routinely denying access to the international media. No foreign …

Forced military service and rights abuses lead many Eritreans to take the treacherous boat journey to Europe. Fatma Naib   Khalid al-Amin  is one of the lucky ones who survived the treacherous journey. Last year on October 3, more than 300 Eritreans drowned when their boat sank off the Italian island …

Annual Report: Eritrea 2013 Eritrea Head of state and government Isaias Afewerki National service conscription was compulsory and frequently extended indefinitely. Military training for children remained compulsory. Conscripts were used as forced labour. Thousands of prisoners of conscience and political prisoners continued to be arbitrarily detained in appalling conditions. Torture …

Eritrea Map of Eritrea with location of Bisha Mine. © 2013 Human Rights Watch Eritrea is among the most closed countries in the world; human rights conditions remain dismal. Indefinite military service, torture, arbitrary detention, and severe restrictions on freedoms of expression, association, and religion provoke thousands of Eritreans to …

Between the desert and the fire "] Eritreans, fleeing their own country for decades, are now using refugee camps in Sudan as a first step into Europe. Refugees have been crossing the border between Eritrea and Sudan for more than 40 years. The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, estimates that northern …

© UNHCR photo GENEVA, October 17, (UNHCR) The UN refugee agency reported there has been a sharp increase this year in the number of migrants and asylum-seekers losing their lives in attempts to get to Yemen, mainly from the Horn of Africa, with more deaths at sea in 2014 than …

The Eritrean Covenant TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE JUSTICE AND PEACE Reviving the Eritrean covenant: We, the authors of this statement, are a diverse group of civic-minded Eritreans who come from all walks of life, from inside Eritrea and the Diaspora and from different ethnic, regional, and political background and persuasions. Individually, like …

Common Principles and Action Plan: An Initiative to Rally the Eritrean Lowland Societies This Society has been subjected for quite a long time to systematic and concerted attacks from the dictatorial chauvinistic regime as well as some opposition elements or organisations, all aiming to demote and belittle its national stature …

Farai Sevenzo The Mediterranean is fast becoming a massive watery grave for Africans. Another 500 reportedly drowned off the coast of Italy the other week, while the attention span of the world quickly moves away. But who are these Africans willing to risk all to reach European shores where they …