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This past weekend, the Telegraph of London newspaper published a report showing pictures of dozens of mainly Ethiopian men being held in squalid conditions at a migrant detention camp in Saudi Arabia. The men are awaiting deportation from the Kingdom, and tell harrowing stories of malnourishment and beatings from guards. To find out more, Esau Williams has been speaking to Will Brown, Africa correspondent at the Telegraph, who co-authored the story with Zecharias Zelalem. Saudi Arabia's embassy in London issued the following statement in response to the report: "While the images are of course shocking and unacceptable to us as a country - we are looking into the state of all official government facilities in light of the allegations made in recently published articles. If facilities are found to be lacking their needs will be addressed appropriately. "We believe there are about 20,000 Ethiopian immigrants who recently crossed the border into Saudi via Yemen and their repatriation is being negotiated with the Ethiopian government. Sadly, the Ethiopian authorities, have refused their re-entry under the claim of not being able to provide adequate quarantine facilities upon their arrival. Saudi Arabia has long welcomed migrants and expatriates from around the world. Millions continue to live and work in the kingdom and have been treated with dignity as our guests. "We have offered free medical care for those who test positive for Covid-19 even if they are in the Kingdom illegally. Kindly note that there are approximately 200,000 legal Ethiopian immigrants living and thriving in the Kingdom today." (Photo: Migrants at a detention centre in Saudi Arabia. Credit: The Telegraph exclusive)
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