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The Ethiopian government has said it is returning Eritrean refugees to camps in the northern Tigray region, a move criticized by the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) as “absolutely unacceptable”.
In a statement on Friday stating that the fighting in Tigray is over, the Ethiopian government said its military offensive against the now fugitive regional government “was not a direct threat” to the nearly 100,000 Eritrean refugees registered in Ethiopia, not even as groups of international aid. It said four of its employees had died, at least one in a refugee camp in Tigray, which borders Eritrea.
Refugees are being taken from the capital Addis Ababa back to two camps they had fled during five weeks of fighting between federal troops and forces loyal to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) because it is now safe and stable in Tigray. the statement said.
“A lot of misinformed refugees are moving irregularly,” he added. “The government is returning those refugees to their respective camps safely,” adding that “the transport of food to the camps is underway.”
The UN has expressed concern over reports of continued fighting in the region.
“We have not been informed by the government or any other authority or other partners about a planned relocation,” Babar Baloch, a UNHCR spokesman, told a news conference in Geneva.
He called the reports “alarming” and said: “Any planned relocation would be absolutely unacceptable.”
Frustration persists among the UN and other humanitarian organizations as the Tigray region remains isolated from the outside world since the fighting began in early November.
The Ethiopian government has made it clear that it intends to manage the process of delivering aid to Tigray and has rejected “interference” as the fighting is reported to continue despite its declaration of victory. On Friday, Ethiopia said it had started delivering aid to areas of Tigray under its control, including Shire and the capital of Tigray, a city of half a million people.
“Suggestions that humanitarian assistance is hampered due to active military combat in various cities and surrounding areas within the Tigray region are false and undermine the critical work undertaken by the National Defense Forces to stabilize the region,” said the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office, adding that the sporadic shooting “should not be misinterpreted as an active conflict.”
The TPLF dominated Ethiopia’s government for nearly 30 years before Abiy came to power in 2018 and sidelined it.
The central government accuses the Tigray leaders of rebelling against the central authority and having attacked federal troops in the city of Dansha. The rebels say the Abiy government has marginalized and persecuted the Tigrayans since taking office.
Thousands of people are believed to have been killed in the fighting, and about a million are now believed to be displaced.
The effect on civilians has been “appalling,” the UN human rights chief said this week.
“We have hundreds of colleagues on the ground and we urgently call on all parties to the conflict to protect all civilians in Tigray,” UN humanitarian spokesman Saviano Abreu tweeted after the announcement of the deaths of the humanitarian workers.
Trucks loaded with supplies have waited for weeks at the Tigray border. The Ethiopian government says it is responsible for ensuring the safety of humanitarian efforts, although the conflict and related ethnic tensions have left many Tigrayans suspicious of government forces.
The UN has emphasized the need for neutral and unfettered access to the region.
“Food rations for displaced people in Tigray have been exhausted,” tweeted the UN humanitarian office. “We reiterate our urgent call for unconditional and safe humanitarian access to the affected regions.”
This week, the Ethiopian government said its forces fired and briefly detained UN staff members conducting their first security assessment in Tigray, a crucial step in delivering aid. Ethiopia said employees had passed through checkpoints in an attempt to go where they were not allowed.
Meanwhile, nearly 50,000 Ethiopians have fled to Sudan as refugees and now live in difficult conditions in a remote region with limited resources.
“Recent groups coming from deeper areas within Tigray are arriving weak and exhausted, with some reporting that they spent two weeks fleeing into Ethiopia while heading to the border,” Baloch said. “They have told us heartbreaking stories that armed groups stopped them and stole their possessions. Many have spent time hiding in fields and bushes to avoid being seen. “
Without access in Ethiopia, he said, “we cannot verify these disturbing reports.”
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