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ADDIS ABABA, Nov.17 (Xinhua) – The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) on Thursday warned that a large-scale humanitarian crisis is unfolding as thousands of refugees flee each day amid the ongoing conflict in the Tigray region in Ethiopia to seek safety in Sudan. .
A statement by the UN refugee agency, quoting UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch, revealed that more than 27,000 Ethiopians have crossed into neighboring Sudan amid conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region.
According to the agency, women, men and children have been crossing the border at a rate of 4,000 a day since Nov. 10, quickly overwhelming humanitarian response capacity on the ground.
UNHCR is currently supporting the Sudanese government in its response, increasing humanitarian assistance at the borders as needs continue to grow.
The World Food Program (WFP) is also providing high-protein foods and biscuits. Muslim Aid provides hot meals.
Since Saturday, UNHCR has so far relocated 2,500 refugees from the border to the Um-Raquba settlement as renovation works continue.
“There is a critical need to identify more sites so that refugees can be relocated outside the border and can access assistance and services,” the agency said.
UNHCR and its partners are now on standby to provide assistance to the displaced in Tigray, including basic items, when access and security allow.
In addition to Ethiopians fleeing to Sudan, as well as internally displaced persons, UNHCR also warned that the ongoing conflict is also a major concern for the Eritrean refugee population of nearly 100,000 in Tigray, who depend on assistance from UNHCR and its partners. partners.
Ethiopia has established a committee to address humanitarian concern in the restless northern regional state of Tigray, Redwan Hussein, spokesman for a newly established Task Force on the State of Emergency for the Tigray conflict, said on Monday.
Since the early morning of 4 November, the Ethiopian government has launched military operations against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a local force in the regional state of Tigray.
Growing disputes between the federal government and the TPLF were exacerbated in September this year, when the Tigray regional government decided to go ahead with its planned regional elections, which the Ethiopian parliament had previously postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. . Final product
