Over 45,000 Ethiopian Refugees Seek Shelter In Sudan Amid Tigray Conflict - Refugee Agency

Over 45,000 Ethiopian Refugees Seek Shelter in Sudan Amid Tigray Conflict - Refugee Agency

CAIRO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th November, 2020) More than 45,000 people have fled Ethiopia since the start of the armed conflict in the Tigray region, Alsir Khaled, head of Sudan's refugee agency in the eastern border town of Kassala, told Sputnik.

"The number of Ethiopian refugees [in Sudan] who are fleeing the war in the Tigray area in the north of Ethiopia has surpassed 45,000. At the same time, local issues [relating to housing refugees] continue because of humanitarian organizations' slow work," Khaled said.

In November, an armed conflict started between Ethiopia's government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) after the government accused Tigray forces of conducting an attack on a military base in the region.

On Sunday, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said that TPLF rebels had three days to "surrender peacefully" and called on civilians in the capital of the Tigray region, Mekelle (Mekele), to stand in solidarity with the government forces.