Over 41,200 People Enter Ethiopia From Sudan: UN
(MENAFN- IANS) Addis Ababa, June 9 (IANS) The number of people arriving in Ethiopia to escape the violence in Sudan has surpassed 41,200, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said.
"More than 41,200 people are estimated to have crossed from Sudan into Ethiopia, majority are Ethiopian returnees, as of June 6," the UNOCHA said in its latest situation update.
The UNOCHA said the uninterrupted daily large number of arrivals, estimated between 700 and 1,000 per day, is a challenge to response capacities at the Metema point of entry in Ethiopia's Amhara region, reports Xinhua news agency.
It warned that more than 4,000 refugees, asylum seekers and about 80 returnees remain at the Metema point of entry resulting in congestion that could expose arrivals to health and protection risks.
It said more than 19,500 Ethiopian returnees were provided with transportation services from Metema to their respective destinations.
Noting that hot meals, drinking water and health services are being provided at the Metema point of entry and Mandefro Terara transit site, the UNOCHA said the services are far from meeting the scale of needs.
Amidst efforts being made by partners to assess the situation at other border entry points of the country, the UNOCHA said refugees and asylum seekers in Gambella Region reportedly must travel from crossing points to existing refugee camps or often stay with host communities as there is no known support in between the areas.
Sudan has witnessed deadly armed clashes between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in the capital city of Khartoum and other areas since April 15, with the two sides accusing each other of initiating the conflict.
The conflict has so far killed more than 800 people, injured thousands others and displaced at least 1.6 million.
--IANS
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