Ethiopian refugees in Sudan are individuals from Ethiopia who have sought asylum in Sudan due to various reasons, including the two-year civil war in the Tigray region and other challenging circumstances in Ethiopia. [1]
Ethiopian refugees in Sudan are individuals from Ethiopia who have sought asylum in Sudan due to various reasons, including the two-year civil war in the Tigray region and other challenging circumstances in Ethiopia. [1]
The history of Ethiopian refugees in Sudan dates back to the 1970s. [2] Many Ethiopians were forced to flee their country due to acts of repression following the usurpation of political power in Ethiopia by the army in 1974. [2] The 1974 Sudan Asylum Act significantly impacted Ethiopian refugees, as it restricted their ability to seek employment or leave their designated refugee camps, a situation that was similar for Eritrean refugees arriving since the 1960s. [2] [3]
In the 1980s, a severe drought in the Horn of Africa, particularly in Ethiopia, led to a mass exodus of around 300,000 Ethiopians seeking refuge in Sudan. [4] [5] Over the years, Ethiopians have continued to flee to Sudan for various reasons, including escaping political persecution, guerrilla warfare, and military conscription. [2] Some have crossed the border seeking to reunite with family members, while others have moved in search of employment opportunities or to participate in integration programs designed to help them establish their own businesses and livelihoods. [4] Additionally, widespread famine in Ethiopia and political issues related to the Tigray People's Liberation Front prompted a significant number of Ethiopian refugees to seek safety in Sudan in 1984. [6]
Since November 2020, Sudan has been grappling with a substantial influx of refugees, primarily due to the conflict in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. [7] The tensions between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front have forced thousands to flee, with an expected influx of 200,000 refugees over six months. [7]
The refugees face legal challenges under Sudan's 2014 Regulation of Asylum Act, which, despite being progressive, has significant gaps. [8] For example, refugees must register within 30 days of arrival, [9] a process complicated by various factors such as fear of authority. [8] Restrictions on freedom of movement within Sudan further exacerbate their plight. [8]
Many Ethiopian refugees have reported the use of smugglers for entering Sudan, [10] and there have been serious issues of human trafficking, including kidnappings and abductions, particularly in eastern Sudan. [11]
The sudden increase in refugee numbers has put a strain on resources in Sudan, leading to difficulties in providing adequate food, shelter, and healthcare services in refugee camps. [12] An outbreak of Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infections was reported among Ethiopian refugees in humanitarian camps in Gedaref State, Sudan, exacerbated by poor sanitation and hygiene conditions. [1]
The European Union has responded to the crisis of Ethiopian refugees in Sudan due to the conflict in the Tigray region. EU Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, visited the border areas in Sudan and Khartoum, signaling the EU's commitment to humanitarian support and Sudan's political transition. [13] His visit included meetings with Sudanese leadership and representatives of humanitarian organizations, and he planned to meet Ethiopian Minister of Peace, Muferiat Kamil, in Addis Ababa, highlighting the EU's comprehensive approach to the crisis. [13]
Financially, the EU has contributed significantly to assist both Ethiopia and Sudan. A €70 million contribution was made to the Sudan Family Support Programme to support Sudan's economic reforms and alleviate the impact of the pandemic on Sudanese families, part of the larger ‘Team Europe' response totaling €230 million. [13] Additionally, the EU allocated an extra €4 million in emergency humanitarian assistance for Ethiopian refugees fleeing the Tigray conflict, bringing its total humanitarian aid for Sudan to €65.5 million in 2020. [13]
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to a third country. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with over 18,879 staff working in 138 countries as of 2020.
Isaias Afwerki is an Eritrean politician and partisan who has been the president of Eritrea since shortly after he led the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) to victory on 24 May 1991, ending the 30-year-old war for independence from Ethiopia. In addition to being president, Isaias has been the chairman of Eritrea's sole legal political party, the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ). As Eritrea has never had a functioning constitution, no elections, no legislature and no published budget, Isaias has been the sole power in the country, controlling its judiciary and military. Hence, scholars and historians have long considered him to be a dictator, described his regime as totalitarian, by way of forced conscription; the United Nations and Amnesty International cited him for human rights violations. In 2022, Reporters Without Borders ranked Eritrea, under the government of Isaias, last out of 180 countries in its Press Freedom Index. In 2023 Eritrea ranked 174th out of 180 countries on the Press Freedom Index.
Bruno Geddo is an Italian national, born in Novara in 1959. He has served with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for over 30 years in Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and the Middle East.
Sudanese refugees in Israel refers to citizens of Sudan who have sought refuge in Israel due to military conflict at home, and to those who moved there illegally as migrant workers. In 2008, there were 4,000 Sudanese in Israel, 1,200 from Darfur and the remainder Christians from South Sudan. The majority entered through the Israeli-Egypt border. Most live in Tel Aviv, Arad, Eilat and Bnei Brak.
Sudanese refugees are persons originating from the country of Sudan, but seeking refuge outside the borders of their native country. In recent history, Sudan has been the stage for prolonged conflicts and civil wars, as well as environmental changes, namely desertification. These forces have resulted not only in violence and famine but also the forced migration of large numbers of the Sudanese population, both inside and outside the country's borders. Given the expansive geographic territory of Sudan, and the regional and ethnic tensions and conflicts, much of the forced migration in Sudan has been internal. Yet, these populations are not immune to similar issues that typically accompany refugeedom, including economic hardship and providing themselves and their families with sustenance and basic needs. With the creation of a South Sudanese state, questions surrounding southern Sudanese IDPs may become questions of South Sudanese refugees.
By January 2011 the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that there are 262,900 Sudanese refugees in Chad. The majority of them left Sudan escaping from the violence of the ongoing Darfur crisis, which began in 2003. UNHCR has given the Sudanese refugees shelter in 12 different camps situated along the Chad–Sudan border. The most pressing issues UNHCR has to deal with in the refugee camps in Chad are related to insecurity in the camps,, malnutrition, access to water, HIV and AIDS, and education.
Ethiopia–Sudan relations date back to antiquity. One of Ethiopia's principal trade routes ran west to Sudan and then to Egypt and the Mediterranean. Muslim merchants from Sudan have been an important part of Ethiopia's trade for many centuries.
A refugee crisis can refer to difficulties and dangerous situations in the reception of large groups of forcibly displaced persons. These could be either internally displaced, refugees, asylum seekers or any other huge groups of migrants.
South Sudanese refugees are persons originating from the African country of South Sudan, but seeking refuge outside the borders of their native country. The world's youngest independent country has a recent and troubled history of prolonged conflicts and ecosystem mismanagement such as overlogging, which has led to desertification. These forces have resulted not only in violence and famine, but also the forced migration of large numbers of the population, both inside and outside the country's borders. South Sudan was cited as the largest refugee crisis in 2016, being the world's third largest, followed by Syria and Afghanistan. As of 2022, the UNHCR estimated that there were 2.4 million refugees under its mandate originating from South Sudan, making the country the fifth largest source of refugees.
Events of 2020 in Ethiopia.
The Tigray War was an armed conflict that lasted from 3 November 2020 to 3 November 2022. The war was primarily fought in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia between forces allied to the Ethiopian federal government and Eritrea on one side, and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) on the other.
The Mai Kadra massacre was a massacre and ethnic cleansing carried out during the Tigray War on 9–10 November 2020 in the town of Mai Kadra in Welkait in northwestern Ethiopia, near the Sudanese border. Responsibility was attributed to a pro-TPLF youth group and forces loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) in the EHRC-OHCHR Tigray Investigation, preliminary investigations by Amnesty International, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO), and interviews conducted in Mai Kadra by Agence France-Presse. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and EHRC reported that at least 5 Tigrayans were killed in Mai Kadra by Amhara militas such as Fano in retaliation. Tigrayan refugees in Sudan told multiple news outlets that Tigrayans in Mai Kadra were targeted by either Amhara militias, the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF), or both.
This timeline of the Tigray War is part of a chronology of the military engagements of the Tigray War, a civil war that began in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia in early November 2020.
Hamdayet Border Reception Centre is a refugee reception centre in eastern Sudan used for Ethiopian refugees fleeing the Tigray War that started in November 2020.
The spillover of the Tigray War has had an impact on other countries in the surrounding region, particularly in Sudan. This spillover mainly consisted of Ethiopian refugees, more than 50,000 of which have crossed the Ethiopia–Sudan border. There have also been border clashes, mostly between the Sudanese Armed Forces and Ethiopian militias, but the Sudanese government has also claimed ambushes by the Ethiopian National Defense Force have taken place. Most of the fighting centered in Al-Fashaqa, a fertile plain claimed by both Sudan and Ethiopia.
Abiy Ahmed's tenure as prime minister of Ethiopia began on 2 April 2018 with his swearing-in at the Ethiopian parliament, succeeding Hailemariam Desalegn. Abiy is the first person of Oromo descent to hold the office, and became chair of the ruling Prosperity Party after the dissolution of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) in November 2019.
The events of the Tigray War have sparked numerous reactions and protests worldwide.
An ongoing refugee crisis began in Africa in mid-April 2023 after the outbreak of the 2023 Sudan conflict. By April 2024, around 1.8 million people have fled the country, while around 9-10 million had been internally displaced. These included at least 75,000 migrant returnees and other third-country nationals.
The deportation of Eritreans from Sudan is the ongoing forced transfer of nearly an estimated 3,500 Eritreans and Sudanese-Eritreans from Sudan mainly at the border between both countries in the war in Sudan. On 7 May 2023, reports by The Guardian were released stating that hundreds of Eritreans had been taken away from their refugee camps near the Eritrean-Sudanese border. Several of the citizens being deported were reported to be Eritrean men who had fled the Eritrean army after being conscripted. Several women were also reported to be arrested.
The Eritrea–Sudan border is 686 km (426 mi) in length and runs from Eritrea and Sudan's tripoint with Ethiopia in the south, to the town of Ras Kasar in the very south of Eritrea. The border has been the site of several tensions, with deportations, border conflicts and colonialism by the United Kingdom and Italy. The border has also seen illegal acts such as human trafficking and hundreds of illegal crossings made by Eritreans. Due to the Tigray War, Sudan saw a surge of Eritrean and Ethiopian civilians cross its border with Eritrea and by 2023 there were nearly 130,000 refugees and civilians confirmed living in the country.