ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopia has flown home over 50,000 citizens in Saudi Arabia after a crackdown against illegal immigrants in the oil-rich state, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

“We projected the initial number to be 10,000 but it is increasing,” foreign ministry spokesman Dina Mufti said, adding that the final total once the mass airlift ends is now expected to be around 80,000.

Ethiopia started repatriating citizens living illegally in Saudi Arabia after a seven-month amnesty period to formalise their status expired on Nov 4, sparking violent protests between Saudi police and Ethiopian migrants preparing to leave the country.

The Ethiopian government said three of its citizens were killed in clashes. Dina said the government is spending $2.6 million on the repatriation programme to bring citizens home, the majority women.

Ethiopia has said relations with Saudi Arabia remain “sisterly”, with Dina saying the government’s main priority was to bring citizens home.

“We are focussing on the repatriation... we have not evaluated that one, we have not assessed that,” he said, referring to Ethio-Saudi ties. Large numbers of Ethiopians — often women seeking domestic work — travel to the Middle East each year looking for jobs.—AFP