More than 40,000 Ethiopians , mostly TPLF rebel forces who lost war in November last year, who crossed the Sudan border were in refugee camps in Sudan
borkena
The United Nations High Commission For Refugees (UNHCR) confirmed on Tuesday that the number of registered Ethiopian refugees in Sudan is decreasing.
However, it called the decrease in number “modest.” It was unspecified as to where those registered asylum seekers moved to after they left the refugee camps.
In a statement issued on September 7, UNHCR said “While there has been a modest decrease in the number of Ethiopian refugees in the refugee camps in recent months, UNHCR is not able to verify the whereabouts of those who have left.”
However, the agency speculated that they “may have returned to their country of origin.”
Furthermore, UNHCR remarked on the situation, saying “Refugee status is incompatible with active participation in armed conflict. Any registered refugees who may have returned to Ethiopia and joined the conflict are no longer considered refugees.”
Last week, top Ethiopian military general, Bacha Debelle, confirmed that Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) attempt to open up a corridor between Sudan and Tigray region failed after more than 10,000 TPLF rebels soldiers were annihilated by the Ethiopian Defense Force and Amhara region security forces.
There was also a report from state media about a week ago that forces who attempted to infiltrate Ethiopia from Sudan with the intention to create disability in the area where Ethiopia’s mega project, GERD, is located were neutralized by the Ethiopian Defense Force. However, it was not confirmed if they were linked to those who fled from the refugee camps in Sudan.
An estimated 40,000 TPLF forces were believed to have crossed the Ethio-Sudan border in November 2020 after they lost the war they triggered against the Ethiopian Defense Force and Eritrea too.
Before the vanquished TPLF forces crossed to Sudan, where they were treated as asylum seekers, they unleashed a horrifying massacre in Maikadra. Human rights organizations and Ethiopian government bodies have confirmed that the rebel forces undertook the massacre. Well over 1000 civilians (including children, women and elders) were brutally massacred in Maikadra and several mass graves were uncovered. An investigation into the massacre by Ethiopian Human Rights Commission revealed that the massacre was premeditated and politically motivated one.
__
Join the conversation. Follow us on twitter @zborkena to get latest Ethiopian News updates regularly. Like borkena on Facebook as well. To share information or send submission, send e-mail to info@borkena.com
The post UN refugee agency says the number of Ethiopian refugees in Sudan decrease, whereabouts “unknown” appeared first on Borkena Ethiopian News.