There are no Egyptians currently in the battle-scarred Ethiopian Tigray region, according to the embassy's records, Egypt's Ambassador to Addis Ababa Osama Abdel-Khalek told Al-Ahram Arabic news website on Wednesday.

The ambassador said Egypt has managed to evacuate all Egyptian expatriates in the region since the armed conflict erupted last month between the Ethiopian government forces and the northern region's Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).

According to Abdel-Khalek, the evacuation process was carried out in coordination with the United Nations (UN) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The conflict has left hundreds dead and injuried, as well as tens of thousands of refugees.

On 29 November, the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared victory over the TPLF after the governmental forces took control of Mekelle, the capital city of the Tigray region, and said it is restoring order in the city.

Egypt has investments worth $10 million in total in Mekelle, according toAlaa El-Saqti, the head of the Egyptian industrial zone in Ethiopia and deputy head of the Federation of Egyptian Investors.

El-Saqti had earlier said the Egyptian factories in Mekelle are at risk and may suffer huge losses due to the ongoing civil war in the region.

The Egyptian ambassador said the embassy constantly communicates with the members of the Egyptian expatriate community in Ethiopia to check on their conditions amid the coronavirus crisis, adding that "their health status is stable and there have been no health complications reported amid the second wave of the pandemic."

Abdel-Khalek called on all expats in the country to continue abiding by all the precautionary measures introduced by the Ethiopian authorities.

https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/397004.aspx