display
Geneva (dpa) - The UN refugee agency has called on Ethiopia to grant immediate access to tens of thousands of refugees from Eritrea in the Tigray region.
“The camps will now run out of food supplies.
So hunger and malnutrition are a real danger, ”UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch said in Geneva on Tuesday.
In addition, one is alarmed by reports of attacks, kidnappings and forced recruitment in the refugee camps.
According to the UN organization, around 96,000 refugees from neighboring Eritrea live in Tigray, the disputed region in northern Ethiopia.
Baloch said: «For almost two decades, Ethiopia has been a hospitable country to Eritrean refugees.
But now we are afraid that they will be drawn into the conflict. "
display
Almost a month ago, the Ethiopian government launched an offensive against the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which had long dominated the region.
Internet and telephone connections were cut, roads were blocked.
The electricity and water supplies are limited.
Almost 46,000 people fled the fighting to neighboring Sudan, according to UNHCR.
At the weekend, Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced that Tigray's capital, Mekelle, had been captured and that the offensive had ended.
The background to the conflict are tensions between Tigray and the central government.
The TPLF dominated Ethiopia for more than 25 years until Abiy came to power in 2018 and ousted the TPLF.
Many people in Tigray feel that they are not represented by the central government and are demanding more autonomy.
In the multiethnic state of Ethiopia with its approximately 112 million inhabitants, there are a number of ethnic tensions.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 201201-99-530472 / 2
Communication from UNHCR