The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
New settlement opens for latest Somali refugees in Ethiopia
As humanitarian needs increase for displaced people at the Somali-Ethiopian border, relocation for the most vulnerable has begun, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday.
An uptick in violence in northern Somalia’s Lascanood city has pushed close to 100,000 people to flee to a remote area of Ethiopia’s Somali region in the past two months.
UNHCR spokesperson Olga Sarrado said that “since clashes started in mid-February, thousands of people have arrived in the Somali region of Ethiopia seeking safety. As of last week, 91,000 people had been registered by the Ethiopian authorities”.
Ms. Sarrado added that although pace of the arrivals had slowed, refugees continue to arrive, fleeing ongoing violence in Somalia.
She flagged that most are women, children and older people, including “more than 3,400 unaccompanied and separated children and adolescents”. Ms. Sarrado said that these young refugees had told UNHCR “harrowing stories” of how they became separated from their families when clashes began and have since been unable to re-establish contact.
Now, a relocation of some of the refugees is underway, “with 1,036 of the most vulnerable people transferred from border areas to a new settlement over the past three days”, Ms. Sarrado said.
Transportation to a new site, located some 50 kilometres from the border in Mirqaan, Bokh district, is being organized by the Ethiopian authorities with UNHCR and partners.
Ms. Sarrado said that “the Government of Ethiopia has generously allocated 400 hectares where refugees can settle and access existing services, such as health care, water and education”, adding that “UNHCR continues to engage with local authorities and leaders to assess gaps in basic services, so support benefits both refugees and Ethiopians as well”.
With needs on the rise, the establishment of the new site is designed to help provide newly arrived refugees who have been living in precarious conditions with shelter, core relief items, food and water.
Ms. Sarrado explained that “relocation is taking place because [refugees] were settling at the border with Somalia, they were sleeping outdoors, the areas where they were staying started to be overcrowded, leading to increased protection risks”.
In March, UNHCR and humanitarian partners launched a $116 million inter-agency emergency refugee response plan to respond to critical needs faced by refugees and host communities in the area.
UNHCR underscored that “Ethiopia has welcomed refugees for decades” and currently hosts nearly 990,000 refugees from neighbouring countries like South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, and Sudan.
***
B-roll from UNHCR shot on 7 April 2023 in Lascanood and Mirqaan, Ethiopia, is available here: https://media.unhcr.org/Share/863v5lk55cfg3rg617m0b807vhl0n23v
STORY: Somali Refugees in Ethiopia - UNHCR
TRT: 01’54”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
RELEASE DATE: 11 April 2023
HYBRID PRESS BRIEFING
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior wide shot: UN flag alley UN Geneva.
- Cutaway: wide shot, speakers behind podium at the press conference, UN Geneva.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Olga Sarrado, spokesperson, UNHCR: “Since clashes started in mid-February, thousands of people have arrived in the Somali region of Ethiopia seeking safety. As of last week, 91,000 people had been registered by the Ethiopian authorities with UNHCR’s support. Refugees continue to arrive, fleeing ongoing violence in their home country. Most are women, children and older people. Among them are more than 3,400 unaccompanied and separated children and adolescents.”
- Cutaway: medium lateral shot, speaker behind podium at the press conference, UN Geneva.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Olga Sarrado, spokesperson, UNHCR: “The relocation of newly arrived refugees in Ethiopia, who fled clashes in Somalia’s Lascanood city, has begun, with 1,036 of the most vulnerable people transferred from border areas to a new settlement over the past three days.”
- Cutaway: close-up, attendees at the press conference, UN Geneva.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Olga Sarrado, spokesperson, UNHCR: “The Government of Ethiopia has generously allocated 400 hectares where refugees can settle and access existing services, such as health care, water and education. UNHCR continues to engage with local authorities and leaders to assess gaps in basic services so support benefits both refugees and Ethiopians as well.”
- Cutaway: medium lateral shot, journalists at the press conference, UN Geneva.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Olga Sarrado, spokesperson, UNHCR: “Relocation is taking place because the areas where refugees arrive, they were settling at the border with Somalia, they were sleeping outdoors, the areas where they were staying started to be overcrowded, leading to increased protection risks.”
- Various cutaways of journalists and speakers in the press conference room.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Funding and supply shortfalls for the UN World Food Programme (WFP)'s work in Ethiopia will halt lifesaving treatment for 650,000 malnourished women and children at the end of the month. “We are at the breaking point,” it said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Israeli military operations in Lebanon continue to kill and injure civilians, and destroy civilian infrastructure, raising concerns regarding the protection of civilians, the UN Human Rights Office warned today.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , UNWOMEN , UNDP
Sudan: Aid teams report massive displacement after latest Darfur atrocity; women’s bodies ‘turned into battlegrounds’
In Sudan’s North Darfur, tens of thousands of people have fled a displacement camp following the massacre of civilians and aid workers as the country enters the third year of a conflict marked by horrific levels of sexual violence, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | ITC
Global trade could shrink by three per cent as a result of the United States’ new tariff measures which in the longer term could reshape and boost as-yet untapped regional commercial links, a top UN economist confirmed on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Warring parties in Sudan are overseeing a wholesale assault on human rights amid global inaction, the UN Human Rights Office said on Friday, as the conflict is about to enter its third year.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office on Friday said Israel’s increasing issuance of so-called “evacuation orders” for Palestinians in Gaza have resulted in their forcible transfer.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , OHCHR , UNHCR , UNWOMEN , WFP , WHO
Two years of war in Sudan have created epic suffering, aid agencies say
Two years since Sudan’s brutal conflict began, UN agencies warned that famine is spreading and civilians of all ages continue to suffer shocking abuse, including rape and gang rape.
1
1
Edited News | UNMAS
In Gaza, ongoing Israeli military operations and the aid blockade have continued to add to daily fears and hardships confronting those in the devastated enclave, the UN Mine Action Service, UNMAS, said on Wednesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNDP
Dangers grow for Myanmar earthquake survivors, health system 'overwhelmed' - UNDP
In earthquake-shattered central Myanmar people are sleeping in the streets in fear of buildings collapsing, facing early monsoon rains and the risk of waterborne diseases, the UN Development Programme warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | ICRC , OHCHR , UNHCR
Myanmar’s military has continued to launch airstrikes and other attacks against opposition forces in the devastated country, one week since a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck and despite announcing a ceasefire, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada Al-Nashif on Tuesday presented a report on the human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, detailing the continued violations of human rights as a result of the offensive launched by the Rwandan-backed M23 in eastern DRC.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF , IFRC
UN humanitarians and partners on Tuesday expressed deep shock at the killing of 15 colleagues on duty in southern Gaza whose remains were recovered from a shallow grave after a week-long rescue operation, noting that one worker is still missing.