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 | WHO
‘A disease you get when you care for someone’: on the frontlines of the Ebola crisis with WHO
Two weeks into the latest Ebola outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) is estimating that there are 906 suspected cases of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including 223 suspected deaths.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on 29 May called for more robust measures by both states and tech companies to make online platforms safer for children, insisting on effective regulation, oversight and accountability. The digital world that connects children to learning, community and creativity also expose them to real risks, to their safety, to their privacy, and to their well-being. Online harms to kids’ safety, privacy, and well-being are not innate or inevitable.
See High Commissioner video: https://media.un.org/unifeed/en/asset/d357/d3579089
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , WHO
Gaza: Life-saving medicines blocked as killing continues, disease gains ground
In Gaza, a dire humanitarian situation marked by continuing violence, rodent infestations and the spread of diseases is being made worse by blockages of essential medical supplies, UN agencies warned on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights spokesperson Shabia Mantoo, warned against the continuing trend of involuntary returns of Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers from host countries to Afghanistan, in violation of international human rights and refugee law, at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | IFRC , OHCHR
Lebanon's first responders face high risks amid conflict, with 116 killed since March.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
DRC Ebola outbreak: hundreds of suspected cases, no vaccine
A fast-spreading Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has health workers rushing to stop transmission while the roll out of any potential vaccine is months away, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
A UN Human Rights Office report released today covers 19 months of large-scale violations of international law including atrocity crimes, from October 2023 to the end of May 2025.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF
At least six million people in Somalia are going days without enough food, UN aid teams warned on Friday, highlighting that nearly two million of this number are young children “at high risk of illness or death”.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , WHO
Children shot, stabbed and pepper-sprayed in occupied West Bank; scores of Gaza amputees denied prosthetics, aid teams warn
Israeli military operations and surging settler attacks in the occupied West Bank are killing and maiming Palestinian children, while in Gaza tens of thousands with life-changing injuries lack access to treatment and rehabilitation, UN agencies warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
The risk of hantavirus spreading to the general population is “absolutely low”, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) stressed on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR , IFRC
Death and destruction have continued unabated in Lebanon while communities are still unable to return to their homes despite a ceasefire that began on 17 April, humanitarians said on Tuesday.