6 Ethiopian migrants hurt in Zambia escape attempt

By James Kunda

LUSAKA, Zambia (AA) - Six Ethiopian migrants were injured after a failed attempt to escape a security net in Zambia's northern region, authorities said on Sunday.

The incident occurred on Saturday as immigration and police officers pursued a vehicle believed to have been carrying 12 undocumented Ethiopians in Isoka district on Zambia's border with Tanzania.

"The vehicle they were traveling in lost control due to over speeding. The injured were admitted to Isoka general hospital ... two have since been discharged, while four remain in a critical condition," Namati Nshinka, an immigration department spokesman, said in a statement in the capital Lusaka.

Zambia is one of several countries of transit for thousands of migrants from the Horn of Africa who travel along the southern route towards South Africa mainly in search of livelihood opportunities.

Irregular migration along the route is facilitated by an intricate network of smugglers and traffickers, and is fraught with extreme risk to life.

Last December, Zambian police found the bodies of 27 men, believed to be migrants from Ethiopia, dumped in a farming area on the outskirts of the capital.

Nshinka said the department remains vigilant in clamping down on illegal migration to secure the lives of both migrants and local communities.