LUSAKA, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Immigration authorities in Zambia have deported 47 foreigners, 46 of them from Ethiopia, for illegally entering the country, a spokesperson said on Monday.

The other deported was a French national, according to Immigration Department spokesperson Namati Nshinka.

He said in a statement that the deportation was conducted between February 23 and March 1 after the affected foreigners finished serving their prison sentences for unlawful entry and stay in Zambia.

The 46 Ethiopians were among 70 people from that country arrested on October 15 last year in an operation conducted in Lusaka, the country's capital, he added.

According to him, 24 other Ethiopians were still serving their prison sentences.