The conflict in Tigray region in Ethiopia continues to deepen, forcing some 25,000 Ethiopians to flee into neighbouring Sudan.
According to the state news agency SUNA “The number of Ethiopian refugees who have arrived in Gadaref and Kassala states since Saturday has reached 24,944.”
UN refugee agency officials toured the border region on Saturday and discussed the influx with Sudanese officials.
The UNHCR assistant representative in Sudan Jan Hansmann has said that the priority of his agency was to provide the refugees with shelter, food and water.
The agency hopes to also transfer them to regions far from the border “for security reasons”.
Officials in Sudan and the UNHCR are now working towards establishing new camps in Sudan for the Ethiopians refugees.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed this month ordered military operations in Tigray region after accusing forces in the region of attacking federal troops.
The move has escalated a long-running feud with the region’s ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
On Sunday the leader of the Tigray region claimed responsibility for rocket strikes on the airport of neighbouring Eritrea’s capital.
There are concerns the conflict could widen and create more tension, forcing some 200,000 people to flee.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has already rejected a request for peace talks over the worsening conflict situation in Tigray.
Sudan ‘closes border with Ethiopia’ over tension in Tigray region
Source: Africafeeds.com
