CAPE TOWN — More than 61,000 people have fled Ethiopia’s restive Tigray region and lived under appalling conditions in neighbouring Sudan, medical aid organisation Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said on Friday.
Up to 12,000 refugees were currently scattered in and around the Hamdayet transit camp near the border without proper shelter and access to water, food, blankets, and sanitation, the group said.
Some had been in Hamdayet for months, with new people arriving every day, even though UN guidelines stipulate refugee camps should not be located near border areas due to safety concerns, according to MSF.
Refugees arriving in Hamdayet should be moved to permanent camps within 72 hours, where they have access to basic services.
“Refugees are living in unhygienic and appalling conditions. This situation is taking a toll on people, severely affecting their physical and mental health,’’ MSF said in a statement.
Ethiopia launched a military offensive in Tigray in November to diminish the power of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which rules the region and has been critical of the government.
The government declared the conflict ended in early December, though there are reports of pockets of ongoing fighting.
An estimated 3.8 million people are in need of humanitarian aid in the region, most without access to life-saving medication and food, according to the Ethiopian Red Cross (ERCS).
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