HomeHomepage gridEthiopian refugees fleeing clashes in the country’s northern Tigray region, rest and cook meals near UNHCR’s Hamdayet reception centre after crossing into Sudan. © UNHCR/Hazim Elhag

Eritrean Refugees in Tigray Are Trapped

By: Mark Leon Goldberg on August 30, 2021

By Refugees International Senior Fellow  Dr. Sarah Miller, 

Being in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region right now is difficult for anyone. Famine, conflict, and sexual violence are prevalent, and communications and humanitarian aid are largely cut off. But the situation is particularly difficult for Eritrean refugees in Tigray, who seem to be taking fire from all sides.

Eritrean refugees in Tigray have been kidnapped, attacked, killed, raped, harassed, and threatened by nearly everyone party to the conflict: Eritrean troops, Ethiopian forces, Amharan militia, Tigrayan forces, and other groups. Many are now trapped in camps where they remain under threat, and aid groups are not able to reach them. UNHCR reports that healthcare is unavailable, and clean drinking water is running out. Last month Mohamed Abdelsalam Babiker, the Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Eritrea, called for increased protection for Eritrean refugees in Tigray, as well as in other parts of Ethiopia. Some 80,000 of them are now at risk.

Urgent action can help stave off the worst of the crisis. It is not too late. But time is running out. readmore