Nearly 100 Ethiopian migrants rescued by South Africa police

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa

South African police said they rescued 90 Ethiopian migrants who were being held against their will at a property in Johannesburg.

Police carried out a search at the property on Sunday for a person reported to have been kidnapped and discovered the migrants, they said. Two people were arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and human trafficking. The alleged kidnapping victim was also rescued, police said Monday.

The Ethiopian migrants are believed to have been illegally trafficked. They were packed into small rooms and kept locked up, police said.

They were taken to a hospital for medical care and the two suspects will face charges in court.

Authorities, including Interpol, have raised concerns over the trafficking of Ethiopian migrants through several southern African countries in an attempt to ultimately reach South Africa. The migrants are often trafficked and kept in dangerous conditions.

In 2020, at least 64 people from Ethiopia were found dead inside a freight container in Mozambique. In 2022, the bodies of 30 Ethiopian migrants were found in a mass grave in Malawi. That same year, the bodies of 27 Ethiopian men were found dumped in Zambia.