Sudan: 1,400 Ethiopian refugees transferred to camp in Gedaref

Sudan has transferred 1,400 Ethiopian refugees from Basonda and Al-Fazra areas to Al-Shagarab camp to complete their applications for refugee status.

According to the semi-official Sudan Media Center (SMC), Commissioner Osman Mohamed Ahmed said the refugees have been transferred to Al-Shagarab camp under the supervision of the security committee and the Ethiopian consulate in Gedaref.

Mohamed Ahmed pointed out that the refugees have entered Sudan last month following ethnic clashes between Amhara and Tigray. He added that 98 refugees have been repatriated to Ethiopia, saying the government of Gedaref State has exerted huge efforts to provide the necessary services to the refugees. He stressed that the security situation at the border localities with Ethiopia is stable, as reported by Sudan Tribune.

The Ethiopian government said frustrated by the failure of the Sudanese authorities to curb the continued arms smuggling into Ethiopia through its border and warned it may negatively impact bilateral relations.

The statistics of Sudanese Commission of Refugees claim that Sudan is hosting around 2 million refugees from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Chad, Somalia, Central Africa Republic, South Sudan, Yemen and Syria. The UN says Sudan hosts 110,000 Eritrean refugees, 400,000 South Sudanese refugees and more than 100,000 Syrian refugees.

In addition, some 500,000 South Sudanese who stayed in Sudan following the separation is also in need of humanitarian assistance according to the UN.