“The 13 Eritrean footballers went directly to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) offices in Dar es Salaam and sought protection as refugees,” Isaac Nantanga, spokesman of Tanzania’s home affairs ministry, said.
“Under international law, we cannot arrest them since they went through the UNHCR channel. Immigration officials interviewed the Eritreans today to see if they have any grounds for seeking refugee status in the country.”
Nantanga said the refugees would remain under the supervision of the U.N. refugee agency until the government made decision on the applications for asylum.
The secretary general of the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) Angetile Osiah had earlier told Reuters that they had reported the disappearance of the players to the relevant law enforcement authorities for investigation.
Illegal immigrants from Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia often use the east African country as a transit point to South Africa and elsewhere.
It is not the first time members of an Eritrean team have vanished after a tournament outside the country. In 2009, 12 members of the national squad disappeared in Kenya after competing in a regional tournament.
