RRS says recent statements by UNHCR and UNOCHA on refugees in Tigray partial, not cognizant of context

Addis Ababa, January 25, 2022 (FBC) – Refugees and Returnees Service (RRS), in a statement, said that it found the recent statements by the United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) regarding refugees in Mai Aini and Adi Harush and those in need of humanitarian assistance in the Tigray region, and the subsequent reports by some international media outlets partial and not cognizant of the context.

“To comprehend the state of affairs better, it is important to understand the context in which the refugees have been through and how they reached this stage. Assessing the situation on the ground and future prospects, it is worth noting that we have made every effort to fundamentally address the difficulties Eritrean refugees have been facing in the context of the Tigray conflict,”

During the time of law enforcement operation by the Federal Government, land was provided for the establishment of a new refugee site in North Gondar, with an understanding that the problem could be permanently solved by relocating the refugees to a place where they could receive adequate protection and support, RRS stated.

“Following that, necessary arrangements were made to temporarily relocate the refugees, and we have succeeded in moving a few hundred to the new site. To put some records straight, between June to August 2021, despite repeated efforts and calls from our side to take advantage of the Government’s unilateral ceasefire to relocate the refugees, all attempts failed to come to fruition being rejected by the TPLF,” RRS noted.

“We tried to bring the issue to the attention of the international community through a statement issued on 22 July 2021, though not fetched the response needed to end the sufferings of the refugees. On the contrary, TPLF responded the other way by ravaging the Mai Aini and Adi Harush refugee camps, deploying heavy artilleries, shooting and abducting refugees, looting their properties including a World Food Program (WFP) warehouse and refugee health centers, and above all, blocking free movement, which hindered the relocation of refugees in the aforementioned camps. Beginning from early August 2021, refugees were short of food and medicine supplies, but no one was there to listen to our repeated calls,”

We appreciate the UNHCR for recognizing, in its recent statement, efforts made to relocate the refugees to the new site provided by the Government of Ethiopia in Dabat in the neighboring Amhara Region, it did not indicate that the dire suffering of the refugees resulted from the restriction of freedom of movement by the rebels though.

“By the same token, UNOCHA’s recent statement on the issue of access to the Tigray Region for humanitarian assistance undermines efforts by the Federal Government to minimize humanitarian crisis by refraining from entering the Tigray region, even after forcing the invading rebels to flee from Amhara and Afar regions. Thus, it shall be noted that TPLF is responsible for all the delays and obstacles as they blocked all avenues of humanitarian assistance to Tigray,” the statement said.

RRS called on international community to press for the relocation of Eritrean Refugees in the Tigray Region to a place where they can receive the required humanitarian assistance and protection and end their suffering and find a lasting solution.

RRS further called on the international community to condemn TPLF for waging war in areas where humanitarian assistance is being transported.