ADDIS ABABA, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopia Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) announced on Friday it has repatriated 4,168 nationals in last two weeks from Middle Eastern and African countries.

The Ethiopian nationals were repatriated from Tanzania, Libya and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Speaking to local and foreign media outlets, Meles Alem, Spokesperson at MoFA, said the government repatriated the nationals with the joint efforts of Tanzanian, Libyan and UAE authorities.

Alem said some of the nationals had been serving prison terms in those three countries.

"In addition to repatriating Ethiopian nationals who are stranded in foreign countries, the MoFA is also working to ensure the employment rights including pay rights of Ethiopian nationals," he further said.

It is estimated that tens of thousands of Ethiopians are trafficked into foreign countries annually.

The human trafficking goes through three different routes, with the northern one going through Sudan, Libya and Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe.

The second route goes east through Somalia, Djibouti and the Red Sea to reach Saudi Arabia.

The third one goes south through Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique to reach South Africa.