Sudan confronted with the headache of welcoming Ethiopian refugees
A member of an Amhara militia fighting alongside the federal forces against the Tigrayans on November 7 in Musebamb.
EDUARDO SOTERAS / AFP
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2 min
The Ethiopian air force has launched several series of raids on Tigrayan positions while on the ground, heavy artillery fighting is said to have pitted federal troops and the forces of the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front.
The conflict has been going on for more than a week and the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), believing that the war is likely to intensify, expects a massive wave.
Within 48 hours, at least 11,000 Ethiopians fleeing the fighting fled to eastern Sudan.
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With our correspondent in Khartoum,
Eliott Brachet
Most of the refugees
are concentrated around the border town of Hamdaiyet.
This crossing point is located on the Sudanese side of the triple border with Ethiopia and Eritrea.
On foot or in Sudanese army trucks, these thousands of displaced people descend the river that separates the region of Kassala from that of Gedarif.
Some have walked for several days to flee the intense fighting and bombing in the Tigray region.
Complex equation
The Sudanese Refugee Commission fears that if hostilities continue, nearly 200,000 people will flock to eastern Sudan.
In an emergency, local authorities are looking for reception solutions.
But the challenge is significant, according to a contact on the spot.
“
The authorities decided to open a new refugee camp in Oum Rakouba, because the Tigrayan refugees did not want to join the Shagarab camp which is populated by Eritrean tribes.
But the problem is that Rakouba is populated by Amharas,
”he explains.
►Also read: Ethiopia: in Tigray, a conflict "first and foremost political"
Sudan is already hosting many refugees from historic confrontations between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Today, in addition to dealing with the catastrophic humanitarian situation, the Sudanese authorities are walking on eggshells not to stir up community tensions among the refugees.
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Sudan
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