Khartoum, Nov. 15, 2020 Some 25,000 refugees fleeing the fighting in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region have arrived in two states in Sudan.
The Sudan News Agency (SUNA) reported on Sunday that 24,944 Ethiopian refugees have arrived in the Gedaref and Kassala states.
It said the UN Refugees Commissioner in Sudan, Abdulla Suleiman and Assistant Commissioner, Heise Man held a meeting last Friday with the health officials in Gedaref State to review the interventions carried out, so far, to assist the refugees and the requested measures to meet the growing numbers of the new comers.
The UNHCR officials said that priority would be given to the provision of shelter, food and water for the refugees and their transportation to safe and remote areas away from the fighting.
He appealed for “urgent action” by the international community and aid organizations to provide the requested support to the refugees fleeing the conflict in Tigray Region.
The local government of Tigray, led by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), has been fighting forces of the Federal government in Addis Ababa.
Violence erupted at the start of the month in Tigray involving federal and local forces, following the reported takeover of an army base in the Tigrayan capital, Mekelle, which prompted the prime minister to order a military offensive.
Prior to the Tigray escalation, dozens of people in western Oromia region were killed and injured in attacks.
The Ethiopian Federal Government has also declared a six-month state of emergency in the Tigray Region, whose government is controlled by TPLF.