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75,000 Ethiopians fled to Sudan in 5 months

March 16, 2021 at 9:51 am

Unit of Ethiopian army on 7 March 2021 [Minasse Wondimu Hailu/Anadolu Agency]

Ethiopian refugees continue to flee to Sudan as the conflict in the northernmost region of Tigray continues to escalate.

Sudan’s official SUNA news agency reported that the influx had continued “despite the tightened closure of crossing points on borders between the two countries.”

According to an official report by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the Hamdayet camp in the border city of Gedaref had received “308 refugees last week, while 17 others arrived in City 8.”

“Over the last three months, 8,600 refugees arrived into the Blue Nile state,” the report pointed out, adding that “more than 75,000 Ethiopian refugees have arrived in Sudan since November.”

UNHCR added that the figures excluded those who “entered without passing through checkpoints.”

The humanitarian organisation said that the Ethiopian refugees were receiving “shelter, food, and health care services through Sudanese authorities, in cooperation with the national and foreign organizations working at refugees’ camps.”

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