UN expresses concern over scattered Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) expressed deep concern over thousands of scattered Eritrean refugees after attacks against their camps in Ethiopia's Tigray region.

UNHCR in a statement said satellite imagery and testimony from those who have fled the attacks confirmed that Eritrean refugees' camps in the Tigray region have been burned to the ground.

Spokesperson Boris Cheshirkov on Friday told reporters in Geneva that all the humanitarian facilities at the Shimelba and Hitsats refugee camps in the northern Ethiopian region were "looted and vandalized".

The mission, conducted jointly by UNHCR and the UN humanitarian coordination arm, OCHA, found that most shelters in the Hitsats camp, as well as the UN offices and the staff guesthouse, had been destroyed.

The joint mission also managed to visit Shiraro town, where refugees were believed to be scattered and "in urgent need of safety and support".

A subsequent mission will aim to identify the numbers living in the area and determine whether UNHCR and the Ethiopian Agency for Refugees and Returnee Affairs (ARRA) could deliver aid there and work out plans for voluntary relocation.

"UNHCR is deeply concerned for the well-being of the Eritrean refugees who had been residing there, all of whom have fled the camps," Cheshirkov added.

The UN refugee agency also reported that thousands of Eritrean refugees sheltering at Barahle refugee camp in Ethiopia's Afar region have fled the camp after attacks by unidentified assailants.

"Refugees who trekked the long distance to the regional capital in Semera told UNHCR staff that armed men entered the camp on Feb 3, stole their belongings and occupied their homes," said Cheshirkov, speaking on behalf of UNHCR in Geneva.

"According to their testimonies, at least five refugees were killed. Family members lost one another in the chaos of fleeing the camp."

The attack is just the latest instance of Eritrean nationals living in Ethiopia coming under fire, since the conflict erupted and spread from the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray to the Amhara and Afar regions.