Eritrean football players abscond in Uganda

Five players representing Eritrea's Under-20 national football squad have absconded in Uganda and are seeking asylum. The Daily Monitor reports that Aimable Habimana, chair of the tournament's organising committee, said the players slipped away from their hotel in Jinja, a city on the shores of Lake Victoria. ‘We have decided to beef-up security around their hotel and the team so that we end the tournament on a good note,’ he said. Human rights groups say thousands of Eritreans have fled the one-party state because of rights abuses and to avoid national service, which is compulsory and indefinite.