Thousands of refugees return to Eritrea
The United Nations refugee agency says nearly 2,000 Eritrean refugees have left camps in Sudan to return home as a major repatriation campaign begins.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has so far registered more than 17,000 refugees for the return journey.
Tens of thousands more are expected in coming months, said UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski.
A first convoy of 54 trucks, which carried 934 refugees back from Sudan on Saturday, was welcomed by cheering crowds and government officials at the Eritrea-Sudan border, Mr Janowski said.
Some of the refugees crossed the border on foot with their livestock, he said.
"Most of those keen to go home now are farmers who want to prepare their fields in time for the rainy season. Other refugees are rushing home to place their children in schools."
A second convoy with 960 refugees has left Kassala, Sudan.
"The returnees are receiving cash assistance, food and household supplies to help them settle back into communities which some of them left during last year's conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia," Mr Janowski said.
UNHCR plans to repatriate some 20,000 people before the rainy season starts at the end of June and 62,000 by the end of the year.
