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“The announcement that we will finally have access to the conflict zones in Tigray is a welcome development for all humanitarian workers operating in the region. This must mean access to everywhere, including internally displaced persons and Eritrean refugees living in the Tigray camps, ”said Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), who is currently visiting refugees in the Um Rakuba camp in Sudan, near the Ethiopian Border.
“The aid convoys are on standby; ready to move to Tigray and support families in need. Supplies are needed immediately as there is a serious shortage of food, medicine and other relief. We also need more humanitarian workers to support our staff on the ground, some of whom have had to flee themselves. We are ready to go today, ”Egeland said.
Up to 100,000 refugees are expected to arrive in Sudan in the next five months due to the conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. Under international law, people fleeing violence must be allowed to move to safety zones, including neighboring countries like Sudan, where they can access the assistance they need to survive.
About 10,000 people have already transited to the Um Rakuba refugee camp, 70 kilometers southwest of the main border crossing from Tigray to Sudan, where NRC is providing assistance on the ground. The camp reached its maximum capacity late last week. Despite this, refugees continue to arrive hungry, thirsty and in need of shelter.
Thousands of newly arrived Ethiopian refugees have remained near the border in the hope of returning to Tigray for the harvest or to retrieve some of their property or belongings. Many refugees have told NRC staff that they want to remain near the border crossing to wait for relatives or relatives who are still in Tigray.
“I am just a student. When the violence broke out, I ran for my life and left my mother and sister behind. I am too scared to go back to Tigray, ”said Younas, an Ethiopian refugee taking refuge in Sudan.
Sudan is already home to more than three million displaced people, all while facing an economic crisis.
“Sudan has had its own complex humanitarian crisis for decades, due to drought, disease and an increasingly severe economic crisis. The humanitarian system only received half the money it needed to help six million people this year, and the number of people in need in Sudan is expected to increase. We must rally around civilians in Ethiopia and refugees in Sudan now, before the needs get out of hand, ”Egeland said.
Facts and figures:
About 10 million people are estimated to be food insecure in Sudan.
Sudan is home to more than one million refugees, mainly from South Sudan and Ethiopia, as well as 2.5 million internally displaced persons.
In 2020, Sudan’s humanitarian response requires $ 1.6 billion to provide vital assistance to more than 6 million people. Only half has been funded.
860,000 people have been affected by severe flooding in the 18 states of Sudan.
For more information or interviews, contact:
In Oslo: Michelle Delaney, NRC Media Advisor to the Secretary General, at [email protected], and +47 941 65579. NRC Global Media Hotline at +47 905 623 29, [email protected] .
