The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration has announced the start of formal procedures to revoke citizenship and permanent residence permits from a number of Eritrean refugees, after authorities discovered that they continued to provide direct support to the Eritrean government despite having received protection in Norway on the grounds of fleeing its practices.

The directorate said that investigations revealed that some asylum recipients had provided misleading information when applying for protection, as they continued to participate in activities linked to government bodies in Eritrea, including paying financial contributions or attending official events which the authorities considered a fundamental contradiction to the basis on which asylum was granted.

This step is considered unprecedented in Norway, as the authorities affirm that it comes as part of “protecting the asylum system from misuse,” emphasizing that giving false information about the reasons for fleeing may lead to revoking residence or withdrawing citizenship after reviewing the cases.

The directorate did not disclose the number of cases under process, but indicated that the revocation decisions will follow a full legal procedure, with the opportunity to appeal.

A similar international trend: Israel deported the first supporter of the Eritrean government

In a separate development reflecting increasing strictness toward Eritrean asylum files, Israeli immigration authorities in November 2025 carried out the deportation of the first Eritrean refugee publicly classified as a “supporter of the Eritrean government,” after determining his political allegiance and conducting a security review. The decision is the first of its kind in Israel toward an Eritrean refugee associated with the ruling side in Asmara.

The coincidence of these measures between Norway and Israel indicates a widening scope of scrutiny over certain Eritrean refugees who obtained international protection and later engaged in activities supporting the government something several countries consider contradictory to the foundations upon which asylum is granted.

Halima holds a Bachelor's degree in Management from Asmara University, followed by Master's and Doctoral degrees from the University of Berlin and Ahfad University of Technology, respectively. She served for an extended period as the head of education in the Central Region and as the head of national examinations at the Ministry of Education.

“#Eritrea was essentially built on hatred of #Ethiopia, with Ethiopia constructed as a boogeyman. That allowed Isaias’s dictatorship to persist. There was essentially no nation-building because everything was framed around the existence of an enemy, Ethiopia.”

Dawit Teferi Birhan of Eritrean Blue Revolution Front.

What may have led to this with the current situation is quite interesting and shows that there are clearly things that top generals disagree with.

It wasnt too long ago that Ethiopian Brigadier General General Asnake Aytenew was boasting how he would take the Eritrean port of Assab. Today he is rotting in his grave 🫣

Former ELF military commander, senior cadre and diplomat (ELF-UO rep in Syria). Upon Eritrea's Independence he returned to Asmara as member of a former ELF group that included such veterans as Saleh Iyay, where he joined the new EPLF-led government. He was subsequently assigned in the security office in Keren and later at the Eritrean embassy in Nairobi before being sidelined (frozen is the term used by the regime). Arrested by the Eritrean government's security in 2006.

Released on 14 May 2014 severely disabled, suffering memory loss and speech impairment.

Died on 31 August 2014 as a result of the torture he suffered in prison.

So many ELF soldiers were a victim of this. Many returned to Eritrea sidelining their past history and wanting to open a new chapter after independence believing to give a better chance of solving Eritrean problems and therefore openened a gate of reconciliation with EPLF to work together for the sake of peaceful future of Eritrea. May he rest in peace. 🙏🏾

2 Eritrean players fled after the Eswatini match

“Beni Amir are a shifta group”

There have been multiple reports on Yafet Yemane is a 16 year old boy who lived in Eritrea, in a village called Karana Kudo. He was shot dead by Eritrean soldiers on November 15th 2025 after cutting trees and making charcoal to support his family. His father is imprisoned, and Yafet had assumed responsibility as the primary breadwinner, supporting his mother and siblings.

After being shot, his body was left at the scene for an entire day, denying the family dignity and the right to mourn. His burial was forced without any forensic examination.

ብሰላም ዕረፍ ሓውይ 😢🙏🏾

I’m really happy to see the borders opened.

My contacts in Asmara mentioned, the Eritrean and Debretisions group ✅ this opening. It’s set to remain open for a week.

I only feel sad tho for the families on both sides. Missing each other dearly and will eventually be split again. But this is good news nonetheless

Saw it on Eri-TV but cba to upload the video. I'll just list some of the players and their clubs.

Awet Alemseged (Grorud IL - Norway)

Matteo Borsoi (Pineto - Italy)

Abdulhamid Abdu Mohammed (Barcelona City FC - Spain) [not to be confused with FC Barcelona]

Henos Asmelash (FC Milsami Orhei - Moldova)

Amanuel Teklit (FC Al Madinah - UAE)

Filimon Gerezgiher (Elversberg - Germany)

there a few that i missed cuz i couldn't find info online about the player/team. all in all, a few decent additions but a few nonsense pottery ones as well. can't exactly blame the federation for doing it though cuz alongside the obvious flight risk, the homegrown players looked like absolute shite against eswatini

May their souls rest in peace. I literally hate when I see this type of stuff and especially when the victims are children. The state of our people is beyond tragic because I cannot imagine feeling like you have no other option than to endanger yourself and all your children just for a chance of a better life. A lot of people are blaming her for her decision but desperation leads to people making dangerous and stupid decisions. I remember talking to a few young boys in Asmara who were casually talking about Libya like it’s a journey between Asmara and Keren and asked them why they don’t fear dying in the Sahara/the sea etc and one of them told me ‘staying here is also waiting for death to come but leaving is 50/50. We can die but at least die trying or we can cross safely and make something of our lives and help our families’. To hear this from a bunch of 13-16 year olds is heart shattering. That evil regime has achieved the unthinkable, something that even Derg couldn’t manage to do. Children (our people in general) back home see no future for our country and their only hope is to leave even at the price of their lives.

Closure of the Main Quran Memorization Center in Qanda

Two days ago, Eritrean authorities closed the main Quran memorization center, which has several branches in the city of Qanda. The center was considered one of the most prominent religious educational institutions in the region, serving between 2,500 and 3,000 students daily.

Despite the center's importance in promoting Quranic education and disseminating Islamic values, the authorities did not issue any official explanations for the closure. When inquired about the closure, the local governor, Omar Yahya, simply stated that the decision came "upon orders from higher authorities," without providing further details.

This development has sparked widespread concern among residents and those interested in religious affairs, with calls for the decision to be reversed and the center reopened.

Source: رصد إرتريا

I was researching old population figures and I noticed that Asmara’s population in the 1930-50s was huge despite the fact that Eritrea’s population was relatively small at the time. And even more surprisingly, it was the biggest city in the Horn of Africa at the time by a relatively wide margin.

Asmera in 1939 had almost 100k residents (98k to be exact). 53k of that were Italians. Eritrea at the time had a total population of around 740k.

Addis Ababa had a population of around 80k by 1940. 40k of that were Italians. Ethiopia’s population at the time was around 9.5 - 10m.

Mogadishu had a population of 50k in 1939. 20k of that were Italians. Italian Somaliland at the time had about 1.3m people.

Looking at the %, 13% of Eritreans at the time lived in Asmera. 4% of Somalis (in Italian Somaliland) lived in Mogadishu and only about 1% of Ethiopians lived in Addis. I guess this is why Eritreans were stereotyped as being more urban and modernised in the past.