Sudan is home to more than 43,000 refugees fleeing the fighting in Tigray to one of the impoverished regions.
Sudan needs $ 150 million in aid to cope with the flood of Ethiopian refugees crossing the border of conflict-affected Tigray, the head of the United Nations Refugee Agency said during a visit to a camp.
The Tigray conflict broke out on November 4th between the Ethiopian federal forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
Sudan has since taken in more than 43,000 Ethiopian refugees who fled the intense fighting to one of its impoverished regions.
“Sudan needs 150 million US dollars for six months to provide these refugees with water, shelter and health services,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi on Saturday in the Um Raquba camp, about 80 km from the Border removed.
Grandi urged “donors to provide Sudan with these resources as soon as possible”.
Between 500 and 600 refugees still cross the border every day.
Sudan has tried to provide aid to counter the mass influx of refugees as it grapples with its own deep economic crisis.
The country has also been in a fragile transition since the removal of strong veteran Omar al-Bashir in April 2019 following unprecedented mass protests against his rule sparked by economic hardship.
According to government figures, 65 percent of the nearly 42 million people in Sudan live below the poverty line.
As the Tigray fighting rages, Grandi also expressed concern about the fate of tens of thousands of Eritrean refugees who have lived in Ethiopia for decades.
“We don’t have access to them,” he said, calling on the Ethiopian government to authorize visits to the United Nations.
Comments are closed.