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LAUNDRY: An Ethiopian girl washes clothes in a tub in a refugee camp in Sudan.
Civilians fleeing the war in Ethiopia arrive in a neighboring country that cannot cope with the crisis. Among the refugees are many children who have been estranged from their parents.
VG is informed by aid organizations on the ground that around 45,000 refugees from Ethiopia are now in miserable tent camps in Sudan. The number continues to rise, even though it is happening at a slower pace as it has become more difficult to cross the border.
The army asks civilians to “save themselves” – After that, there will be no mercy
– There are many, many children, up to two years old, who have been estranged from their parents during the chaotic escape, or whose parents have been murdered. It’s heartbreaking and work is now being done to register the children in hopes that they can find relatives, Berte Marie Ulveseter, country representative for Norwegian Church Aid, tells VG by phone from Sudan.
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– Those we found fled in a hurry. In addition to the urgent need for food, water and tents, there are many who demand clothes, they have not been able to change since they fled their homes several weeks ago, he continues.
On Thursday, VG interviewed one of the refugees, who said that he and his family had to flee separately. Now he doesn’t know where his wife and five children are.
A rebel leader from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) said on Saturday that Ethiopian forces had started shelling the provincial capital, Mekele. In a message to Reuters, the rebel leader writes that the city is under heavy attack, and Ethiopian army leaders have previously warned that they will take Mekele.
IN THE FIELD: Berte Marie Ulveseter, Country Representative for Norwegian Church Aid.
Ulveseter says the refugees have been greeted with great hospitality by the locals, but the region they come to is unable to cater for them.
– There will be a great need for outside help. The situation in the camps is improving a little every day, but at the same time the numbers are coming. Sudan does not have the finances to cope with the situation. It should be noted that there are already nine million people in Sudan who are dependent on food supply.
She says the area the refugees are coming to has been hit by a drought. On Thursday, Ulveseter visited a refugee camp with 12,000 people and on Friday a camp with 8,000 people.
ON THE RUN: Desperate people from the town of Tigray cross a river to reach neighboring Sudan this weekend.
Poor country
According to authorities, 65 percent of the 42 million people in Sudan live below the poverty line, NTB writes. The governors of the states that have received the refugees have raised the alarm that the number is far above what they can handle.
– We were afraid of dying in the war, so we came here. Here we will not die of hunger and disease. If someone wants to help us, they should do it quickly, says one of the refugees, Terhas Adiso.
Conditions in the camps are unsanitary and local authorities describe the health situation of the refugees as dire. However, the number of new refugees has decreased in the last week. Refugees who arrived in Sudan on Thursday accuse the Ethiopian army of blocking a road near Humera near the border.
“Those trying to reach Sudan should avoid the main road and cross the fields without being seen by the soldiers,” said Tesfai Burhano, who had just arrived at the Lugdi border crossing.
MILITARY: Soldiers of the Amhara militia in the town of Mai Kadra, where it is said that a massacre took place, with victims of various groups.
Decisive matches
The final battle between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) rebels and the Ethiopian government army will focus on the regional capital of Mekele. The city, which has about half a million inhabitants, is surrounded by tanks from government forces.
Abiy Ahmed Ali, the Ethiopian prime minister who received the Peace Prize last year for ending the war between Eritrea and Ethiopia, gave the army the green light on Thursday to launch the attack.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, warns of the consequences.
“The extremely aggressive rhetoric from both sides when it comes to the fight for Mekele is dangerously provocative, and there is a great risk that already vulnerable and frightened civilians will be exposed to great danger,” he said earlier this week.
The fact that the rebel leaders are supposedly hiding among the civilian population does not give the Ethiopian state the right to use artillery in densely populated areas, Bachelet said.
P.S: The rebel leadership at TPLF has announced that “Tigray is ready to fight to the last man.” The TPLF is accused of committing war crimes and, according to the Ethiopian prime minister, thousands of movement soldiers have laid down their arms and surrendered to federal forces in recent days.
HERE’S THE FIGHT: In Ethiopia’s Tigray region, bordering Eritrea and Sudan, a bloody civil war is raging and is now entering “phase three.” Photo: AP
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed still refuses to negotiate with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and threatens to crush them militarily, NTB writes on Saturday.
On Friday, an African Union (AU) delegation tried to lure Abiy to the negotiating table, but last year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner again rejected the dialogue.
