(KAMPALA, Dec 3 (Reuters)--At least 14 members of the
Eritrea soccer squad have disappeared in Uganda while playing in a
regional tournament and may eventually claim asylum, Ugandan officials
said on Monday.
Eritrea is one of the world's most secretive states
ruled by a reclusive president. This year United Nations human rights
chief Navi Pillay accused the Asmara government of meting out summary
executions, torture and detaining thousands of political prisoners.
In July last year 13 members of an Eritrean soccer club
sought asylum in Tanzania while 12 members of the national squad
disappeared in Kenya in 2009 after competing in a regional tournament. Rodgers Mulindwa, a spokesman for the Federation of
Ugandan Football Associations (FUFA), told Reuters the players had not
been seen since early Sunday.
"It's true, some of the Eritrean players have
disappeared. They've not been seen at their hotel since early yesterday
and it's very unfortunate," Mulindwa said. Police spokesman Ibn Sekundi put the number of missing
squad members at 18 but said the team's management had informed them the
players were simply "checking on relatives".
Eritrea were taking part in the Council for East and
Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) competition. Eritrea last
played on Friday, losing 2-0 to Rwanda. Moses Watasa, from Uganda's Office of the Prime
Minister (OPM) which is responsible for processing asylum applications,
said the Eritrean players had not made contact.
"As of now we haven't had any contact with them so we
don't know their whereabouts, but it's possible they might want to seek
asylum later," he said. (Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by
Richard Lough and John Mehaffey).
Source: Reuters
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