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Full-scale humanitarian crisis unfolding in Ethiopia: UNHCR

Tuesday, 17 November 2020 6:30 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 17 November 2020 6:37 PM ]

Ethiopian refugees fleeing fighting in Tigray Province line up to receive supplies at the Um Rakuba camp in Sudan’s eastern Gedaref Province, on November 16, 2020. (Photo by AFP)

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says a full-scale humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Ethiopia as thousands of people flee the country’s northern, conflict-torn Tigray region and the border area with Sudan.

The UNHCR said on Tuesday that an average of 4,000 women, men, and children had crossed the border into eastern Sudan every day since November 10.

UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch also told a briefing in the Swiss city of Geneva that in total, over 27,000 people had traveled into Sudan at three border locations over the past few days.

“UNHCR is warning that a full-scale humanitarian crisis is unfolding as thousands of refugees flee ongoing fighting in Ethiopia’s Tigray region each day to seek safety in eastern Sudan,” Baloch said.

“People are coming out of Ethiopia really scared, afraid, with stories saying they have been fleeing heavy fighting and there’s no sign of the fighting stopping,” he said.

Ethiopian migrants, who have fled intense fighting in their homeland region of Tigray, gather in the border reception center of Hamdiyet, in the eastern Sudanese state of Kasala, on November 14, 2020. (Photo by AFP)

Sudan, one of the world’s poorest countries, is now faced with the massive influx. UN agencies were mobilizing resources and trying to assist the refugees, who have been arriving in growing numbers with few possessions or provisions.

Jens Laerke, another spokesman of the OCHA said, “There may be massive displacement inside Tigray and that is of course a concern and we try to prepare the best way possible.”

Ethiopian PM declares deadline given to rebels in north over

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed says the three-day deadline given to rebel forces in the northern region of Tigray to lay down their arms has ended, warning of a final push to retake the regional capital, Mekelle.

The Ethiopian government has been fighting local rebels in Tigray since late last month.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said earlier on Tuesday that a three-day deadline given to the rebels in Tigray to lay down their arms had ended, warning of a final push to retake the regional capital, Mekelle.

The fighting has left hundreds dead and forced hundreds of thousands to flee across the border into Sudan. The crisis also risks destabilizing the wider Horn of Africa region.

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