• HRW accused Saudi border guards of killing Ethiopian migrants.
• Ethiopian foreign ministry announces collaborative investigation.
• Saudi government dismisses allegations as unfounded.

Ethiopia announced plans on Tuesday to conduct a collaborative investigation with Saudi Arabia following a report from Human Rights Watch (HRW) that accused Saudi border guards of killing numerous Ethiopian migrants. The HRW report, published on Monday, triggered global outrage, but a Saudi government source dismissed the claims as baseless.

In response, the Ethiopian foreign ministry revealed on X, formerly Twitter, that it would promptly initiate a joint investigation with Saudi authorities. The ministry urged the exercise of restraint in making assumptions before the investigation concludes, highlighting the longstanding relationship between Addis Ababa and Riyadh.

The report emphasized a rise in abuses along the treacherous migrant path from the Horn of Africa to Saudi Arabia, where a substantial Ethiopian migrant population resides for work. An Ethiopian woman, aged 20, recounted to HRW how Saudi border guards fired at a group of migrants who had just been released from custody. She expressed the emotional toll, saying, “They fired on us like rain. When I remember, I cry.”

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), a UN agency, reported that hundreds of thousands annually undertake the perilous eastern route from Africa to the Gulf countries for job opportunities. This journey exposes them to severe risks, including hunger, dehydration, kidnapping, arrest, and involvement in conflicts, particularly in Yemen.

Yemen, one of the world’s poorest countries, has been mired in a dire humanitarian crisis due to an eight-year war involving Houthi rebels backed by Iran and the Saudi coalition-supported government.

While the Saudi government source rejected HRW’s allegations, asserting that the claims of Ethiopian migrants being shot by Saudi border guards lacked credible sources, the joint investigation is poised to address these serious accusations that have raised significant concerns on a global scale.

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