THE European Union has been accused of funding an evil Eritrean empire which has forced 120,000 people to flee.

By Rebecca Perring

PUBLISHED: 13:16, Thu, Nov 30, 2017

Juncker and Isaias Afewerki

The embattled bloc faces intense criticism for propping up a despot leader who has catapulted his country into the depths of abhorrent slave labour, by handing them £176million in aid, despite protests from human rights groups.The cash has reportedly been ploughed into President Isaias Afewerki’s regime, which is actually encouraging its people to escape a poor nation beset with mass enslavement, the Daily Telegraph reported.

In 2015, more Eritreans reached the shores of Europe than any other nationality in the world and account for the largest amount of asylum applications in the UK.

One in 10 Eritreans has fled abroad, while 120,000 have sought refuge to Europe since 2010 to escape the brutal and harsh conditions of their homeland.

There are said to have been 300,000 to 400,000 people who have been enslaved in the secretive state, which has never had an election.

Atrocities, including an indefinite military national service programme that amounted to mass enslavement, had been committed since the country’s independence in 1991 and were ongoing, according to the UN.

There are said to have been 300,000 to 400,000 people who have been enslaved in the secretive state, which has never had an election.