UN says a lot more than 14,500 have fled Ethiopia to Sudan
The UN refugee agency said on Friday that clashes in Ethiopia had prompted a lot more than 14,500 people to flee into neighbouring Sudan since early November, with the speed of new arrivals "overwhelming the existing capacity to provide aid".Included in this are a large number of children, said Geneva-based spokesman Babar Baloch, describing them as "exhausted and scared".
Many had very few possessions, indicating that they had found its way to a hurry, he added. "UNHCR and its own partners are ramping up assistance, however the amounts of new arrivals are far outpacing the capability on the ground," he told Geneva journalists, saying that many had result from the towns of Humera and nearby towns of Rawyan and Dima.
"General living and operating conditions inside Tigray have become more difficult with power outages and food and fuel supplies becoming extremely scarce. Communications have been cut off creating an information black out," he added.
To handle the influx, Sudan has approved the establishment of a refugee camp at Um Rakuba for 20,000 people. There are also concerns in regards to a mass displacement of a large number of Eritrean refugees at a camp in Ethiopia as fighting closes in on the facility, Baloch said.
