Eritreans in Ethiopia demonstrate over abuses back home

Hundreds of Eritrean refugees and dissidents in Ethiopia demonstrated Thursday against alleged human rights abuses committed by their government back home, expressing support for a new U.N. commission report that accuses the government of crimes against humanity, including enslavement, rape and torture, over the past 25 years.

The Eritreans protested outside the headquarters of the African Union in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. Similar protests occurred in refugee camps across Ethiopia, which has no diplomatic relations with neighboring Eritrea.

Eritrean refugees are one of the largest groups trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. The UN report says 47025 Eritreans applied for asylum in Europe in 2015.