UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is stepping up assistance to conflict-affected populations in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray, Afar and Amhara regions. Since the signing of the peace agreement, UNHCR has seen a major change in humanitarian access and our ability to move critical assistance into Tigray.
UNHCR has been able to send 61 trucks into Tigray, carrying 2,400 metric tons of much-needed relief including medicine, shelter materials, blankets, and household items, and a tanker carrying 20,000 liters of fuel to help bring aid to those most in need.
While UNHCR teams had remained in Tigray throughout, operating from Mekelle and Shire, UNHCR has resumed operations in secondary field locations like Maichew, Adigrat, and Abi Adi.
Working together with the Ethiopian Government’s Refugees and Returnees Service (RRS) and partners, UNHCR has also been able to assist more than 7,000 Eritrean refugees who had been stranded in the Mai Aini and Adi Harush camps in western Tigray. They have been relocated to the recently established Alemwach site in Amhara region, where more than 22,000 Eritrean refugees and asylum-seekers are living. In Alemwach, people are supported with assistance and essential services.
”In Alemwach, one recently relocated refugee I met a week ago told me that he is relieved that his children can finally go back to school again, after more than two years”, UNHCR Representative in Ethiopia, Mamadou Dian Balde.
Similarly, in Afar, UNHCR has also supported the voluntary relocation of more than 900 Eritrean refugees from various locations including the regional capital Semera back to Barahle camp, which had been caught up in the fighting in January this year. UNHCR hopes to fully resume services with RRS and partners soon.
But living in safer and more humane conditions is just one step to providing solutions to refugees who have been caught up in vicious cycles of displacement. Conditions for Eritrean refugees in Tigray have been dire throughout much of the conflict. What they need and deserve is continued and coordinated support from us all so they can rebuild their lives and stand on their own feet, pending durable solutions.
UNHCR is also working closely with local authorities in northern Ethiopia to support Ethiopians displaced by the conflict. Between January and October this year, we have assisted more than 2.1 million internally displaced people – by providing various protection services, shelter, and household items – to return to their homes. The organization has also provided counseling and support to the most vulnerable including separated children and others with specific needs, and survivors of gender-based violence. Over 50,000 internally displaced have been supported to voluntarily return to their homes within Tigray, Afar, and Amhara.
While the organization appreciates these latest developments, there is still a lot more to be done. UNHCR continues to advocate for more conducive conditions in the affected regions, including restoring critical services such as banking and telecommunication so that can operate more effectively and efficiently. The recent reconnection of Tigray’s capital Mekelle to the national electricity grid and the resumption of telephone services in the Shire are welcome steps.
More regular flights into Tigray and surrounding regions will help UNHCR and its partners to reach the most vulnerable so that can provide much-needed assistance, protection, and solutions.
UNHCR appeal to the international community to continue with its funding support. The door to provide much-needed humanitarian assistance is now open.
