Sudanese Refugees return to Ethiopia on foot.. The Difficult Option
Sudan Events – Agencies
After 100 days of suffering for Sudanese refugees stuck in the “Ola” camp in Amhara region of Ethiopia, Thursday morning witnessed a mass migration of refugees as they decided to return to Sudan on foot; Due to security and humanitarian concerns, the decision of Sudanese refugees to return from Ethiopia to Sudan came as a result of being exposed to repeated attacks by Ethiopian militants after they made the forests their refuge, so they preferred to return to their country that they left due to the war raging between the SAF and the Rapid Support RSF Militia.
Suffering and Lack of Services:
Video clips showed hundreds of refugees carrying their belongings heading towards the Sudanese border, affirming their suffering from widespread security chaos and lack of basic services inside the camp.
With the spread of videos on social media platforms, virtual world users interacted with the displacement movement, and re-circulated the hashtag of Sudanese stranded in Ethiopia, and said that the refugees decided to move from the camp after they lost lives and suffered from poor living conditions, and they despaired of waiting and the lack of response to their calls by human rights and refugee organizations.
Repeated Attacks:
The Refugee Coordination had previously issued a statement in which it indicated that the refugees had been exposed for more than 98 days to repeated attacks by armed groups, which included killing, kidnapping, looting, rape and theft.
The statement also highlighted the poor services inside the camp and the resulting loss of lives, injuries and diseases.
The Coordination affirmed that the Refugee Commission in Ethiopia ignored the refugees’ demands to evacuate to a safe country or return to the border registration point, which prompted them to make the dangerous decision to leave in order to preserve their lives, holding all parties responsible for human rights and refugee protection responsible for any risks that refugees may be exposed to during the return journey.
The social media audience launched a campaign highlighting the suffering of Sudanese refugees fleeing the war between the Sudanese army SAF and the Rapid Support Forces RSF to the border areas between their country and Ethiopia.
Obtaining Aid:
Bloggers said that refugees have repeatedly appealed to Ethiopian officials and the United Nations for aid, food, water, protection and evacuation, and ultimately 6,080 refugees were stranded in the forests without any services, which forced them to return to their country, which is witnessing a bloody war between the Sudanese army SAF and the Rapid Support Forces RSF.
According to estimates by the UNHCR, the number of people fleeing from Sudan to Ethiopia since the outbreak of the war last April has exceeded 100,000 people.
