ICERAS

Italy – On Wednesday, 21 October, an IOM charter flight left Rome’s Ciampino Airport for Finland and Sweden. On board were 68 asylum seekers – 19 from Syria and 49 from Eritrea. Members of IOM’s team in Rome accompanied the asylum seekers on the flight and monitored the disembarkation of the Eritreans in Finland. The 19 Syrians […]

Abstract Purpose: The present study assessed the prevalence of and factors associated with suicide attempts among adult Eritrean refugees in Tigray, Ethiopia. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out among adult refugees from February 2020 to April 2020. The exposure variables included socio-demographic, clinically related, and psychosocial characteristics, and substance use-related factors. We included 400 participants […]

Introduction The humanitarian situation in Ethiopia’s northern region of Tigray is nothing short of abysmal. Atrocities amounting to war crimes have led to the forced displacement of nearly 2.5 million people inside Ethiopia and into neighboring states. The Ethiopian government has blocked virtually all food and medical shipments into Tigray, using food as a weapon […]

Key Developments ETHIOPIA On 18 February, UNHCR briefed media that it was working with the Ethiopian authorities and partners to provide emergency aid to thousands of Eritrean refugees who fled Barahle refugee camp and its environs in the Afar region after fighting engulfed the area. In Afar, the security situation remains volatile with armed clashes […]

UNHCR continues to receive new arrivals in East Sudan, largely from Eritrea. The Commission of Refugees (COR) receives and assists asylum-seekers at the border where they are temporarily hosted in reception centres. Within 1-2 weeks they are transported to Shagarab camps where they undergo screening, registration, and Refugee Status Determination (RSD) while receiving life-saving services […]

NAIROBI, Feb 18 (Reuters) – At least five Eritreans were killed when gunmen attacked a refugee camp in Ethiopia’s northeastern Afar region during fighting between rebellious Tigrayan and Afar forces in the area on Feb. 3, the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday. Refugees told UNHCR that armed men attacked the camp, kidnapped several […]

GENEVA —  The U.N. refugee agency said Friday that the whereabouts of thousands of Eritrean refugees remained unknown two weeks after their camp came under attack in Ethiopia’s northern Afar region. Armed men entered the Barahle refugee camp on February 3, prompting 21,000 Eritrean inhabitants to flee for their lives. More than 4,000 trekked the […]

At a briefing for journalists in Geneva, a spokesperson the UN agency said that unidentified assailants targeted Barahle camp on 3 February after fighting engulfed the area, according to harrowing accounts provided by refugees. Chaos and terror “Refugees who trekked the long distance to the regional capital in Semera told UNHCR staff that armed men entered the […]

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is working with the Ethiopian authorities and partners to provide emergency aid to thousands of Eritrean refugees who fled Barahle refugee camp and its environs in the Afar region after fighting engulfed the area. Refugees who trekked the long distance to the regional capital in Semera told UNHCR staff that […]

Two years on from the peace deal with Ethiopia, Eritrea’s leadership has increased its regional and international diplomatic engagement, but without improving the plight of Eritreans through critical human rights reforms. Eritrea’s government remains one of the world’s most repressive, subjecting its population to widespread forced labor and conscription, imposing restrictions on freedom of expression, […]