The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
This is a modal window.
Edited News | UNHCR , UNOG , UNITED NATIONS
Bi-Weekly Press Briefing: Ethiopia - Afar Refugee Attacks UNHCR
Ethiopia conflict: thousands of Eritrean refugees flee new deadly attack on camp
Thousands of Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia have fled their camp in Afar region after a deadly attack earlier this month, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday.
The UN agency told journalists in Geneva that unidentified assailants targeted Barahle camp on 3 February after fighting engulfed the area, according to harrowing accounts provided by refugees.
“Refugees who trekked the long distance to the regional capital in Semera told UNHCR staff that armed men entered the camp on 3 February, stole their belongings and occupied their homes,” said UNHCR spokesperson Boris Cheshirkov. “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 where Eritrean nationals living in Ethiopia have come under fire, since conflict erupted and spread from the northern region of Tigray in November 2020.
A joint investigation by the UN human rights office, OHCHR, and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) in November 2021 highlighted how Tigrayan and national Ethiopian fighters had put the security and lives of thousands at risk in Shimelba camp, between November 2020 and January 2021.
Following the attack in Afar, Mr. Cheshirkov said that over 4,000 refugees had reached Semera, “where UNHCR together with the Ethiopian Refugees and Returnees Service and other partners are providing immediate support with shelter, relief items, food as well as clean water”.
Another 10,000 refugees are also reported to be living in Afdera town, some 225 kilometres from Semera, the UN official explained. “Others are also believed to have fled towards the towns of Altefa and Dabure, which is further inland.”
Just last month, UNHCR urged the international community to do more to end the fighting in northern Ethiopia after finally reaching Eritrean refugees in Tigray region “scared and struggling to get enough to eat”.
That alert came after air strikes in and near the camps of Mai Aini and Adi Harush, home to more than 25,000 refugees.
“With yet another refugee camp severely impacted, UNHCR remains extremely worried about the safety and wellbeing of thousands of Eritrean refugees caught up in the conflict,” Mr. Cheshirkov said.
“We are extremely worried about those that are cut off from aid and have not been accounted for so far. What is important, and we've made this call in other contexts, we make it here again: we need to see an end of hostilities. Hostilities must cease and humanitarian access must be provided so that we can be there and help the people who have urgent needs.”
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNRWA
As a controversial United States and Israel-backed aid distribution plan gets underway in Gaza, the UN called on Tuesday for an “immediate surge” of its own pre-positioned supplies to help prevent starvation.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani today urged Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to reject a bill that was recently endorsed by parliament allowing trials of civilians in military courts. The Uganda People’s Defence Forces Amendment Bill 2025, which was passed on 20 May and now awaits presidential signature to become law, among others broadens the jurisdiction of military courts, authorising them to try a wide range of offences against civilians.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango today warned of a further deterioration in the human rights situation in South Sudan at the bi-weekly briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , WHO
Syria: ‘Staggering’ needs amid insecurity, health care crisis - UN humanitarians
Millions of people in Syria continue to face mortal danger from unexploded munitions, disease and malnutrition and urgent support is required, UN humanitarians said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , OCHA , WHO
UN life-saving aid allowed to trickle into Gaza as civilian needs mount
Amid calls for more humanitarian trucks to enter the food and medicine-deprived Palestinian enclave of Gaza, UN humanitarians have received permission from Israel for “around 100” more aid trucks to cross into the Strip after only five were let in yesterday, But the scale of relief efforts allowed remains entirely insufficient to meet the urgent needs of people there, humanitarian workers say.
1
1
1
Edited News
A war reporter from Lebanon who lost a limb in the line of duty is calling for an end to impunity for attacks against journalists.
1
1
1
Edited News | ITU
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) commemorated 160 years dedicated to connecting the world on Saturday, 17 May in Geneva, Switzerland, during the annual World Telecommunication and Information Society Day.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , OCHA
Gazans ‘in terror’ after another night of deadly strikes and siege
Amid reports that Israeli strikes across Gaza into Friday killed at least 64 people, aid teams once again pushed back strongly at allegations that aid is being diverted to Hamas and pleaded for the blockade to end.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Deportations over recent months of large numbers of non-nationals from the United States of America, especially to countries other than those of their origin, raise a number of human rights concerns, the UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Gaza: Over 50 child malnutrition deaths amid aid blockade; entire generation will be ‘permanently affected’ - WHO
In the aid desert of Gaza, malnourished children are dying while survivors can expect a lifetime of dire health problems, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNICEF , UNRWA
Israel’s aid plan will force Gaza families to choose ‘between displacement and death’ – UN humanitarians
Israel’s plan to take control of relief assistance in Gaza risks increasing the suffering of families already exhausted by 18 months of war by putting their lives in danger and inciting more displacement, using aid as “bait”, UN humanitarians said on Friday.