MUSINA – A group of 26 asylum seekers from Ethiopia crossed the country's northern border and are now being processed in South Africa.

The people were initially arrested when they entered South Africa from Zimbabwe. They crossed the Limpopo border near Weipe on Saturday, March 13, without passports and were arrested as illegal immigrants by local farmers. The farmers handed them to the police and they were then brought to the police station in Musina.

A spokesperson for the Directorate: Communication of the Department of Home Affairs, Mr Leslie Mashokwe, confirmed this week that the Ethiopians were seeking asylum in South Africa. They were not in possession of Ethiopian passports, but they indicated that Ethiopia was their country of origin.

Mr Mashokwe confirmed that they had not been deported, but that they were issued with permits in terms of Section 23 of the Immigration Act. These permits allow them 14 days to report to the nearest Refugee Reception Office, which is in Johannesburg.

Mr Mashokwe said his department occasionally has to deal with illegal immigrants from as far afield as Egypt, Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In 2002, a total of 47 697 Zimbabweans were deported through the Beit Bridge border post. Last year, this figure increased to 55 753. So far this year the figure for January and February has reached the 6 544 mark.