Sudanese Refugees in Ethiopia: From One Refuge to Another

Mamdouh was forced to return from the forests of Owalla in the Amhara region of Ethiopia to the Qadarif state in September, along with hundreds of other Sudanese refugees, after a months-long journey of suffering. However, he embarked on another perilous journey with several colleagues, heading towards the city of Kufra in Libya after the governor of Qadarif state offered them a choice between joining the training camps of the popular resistance supporting the army or working in agriculture.

Mamdouh tells Radio Dabanga that some refugees headed towards Egypt via known smuggling routes, while others went to South Sudan, with large numbers scattered across Tripoli, Kufra, and the Triangle region.

Thousands of refugees in the Komar and Owalla camps in the Amhara region suffered extensive abuses at the hands of local militias, including killings, kidnappings for ransom, forced labor, looting, robbery, and rape, among other forms of suffering. The refugees were also affected by military operations of local militias, which clashed with Ethiopian police and military near the camps, in addition to the deterioration of health services.

According to a new report from Human Rights Watch released in mid-October, Sudanese refugees in the Amhara region of Ethiopia have faced multiple incidents of violence, kidnapping, and forced labor amid the ongoing conflict between government forces and the Fano militias.

Leticia Bader, Deputy Director of the Africa Division at Human Rights Watch, stated: “Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia have been targeted for abuses for over a year by various armed groups. These refugees fled horrific abuses in their homeland and urgently need protection, not more threats to their lives.”

The suffering has driven more than 8,000 refugees to leave the Komar and Owalla camps, taking refuge near the Komar camp and in the Owalla forests.

Mamdouh recounts, “We spent one hundred days in the open in the Owalla forests, fleeing from insecurity and lack of services in the Komar and Owalla camps. We faced numerous attacks from local militias that resulted in deaths and injuries, along with widespread malnutrition among children, women, and the elderly. We depended on aid provided by Sudanese abroad and remittances from our relatives, while the rain poured on our heads for months without any shelter to protect us.”

He adds, “Finally, I decided, along with more than four thousand refugees, to return on foot to our starting point in the city of Matamma in Ethiopia. This came after authorities tried to force us to relocate to the new Aftit camp near the city of Shehidi in the Amhara region, which we rejected due to the insecurity in the region amid continued attacks by Fano militias.”

The UN Refugee Agency confirmed the relocation of nearly seven thousand refugees from the Komar and Owalla camps to the Aftit camp, indicating the closure of these camps and ongoing construction efforts.

Mamdouh continues, “Our journey from the Owalla forests to Matamma took a full week, during which we faced various hardships, including assaults from Ethiopian police who prevented us from entering the city of Matamma unless we handed over our refugee documents. They also dismantled the temporary shelters we had erected at the city’s entrance and physically assaulted and arrested some of us.”

According to Human Rights Watch, on August 21, 2024, Ethiopian soldiers and local militias reportedly forced refugees to move to the transit center in Matamma, and when the refugees resisted, security forces destroyed their temporary shelters and used violence.

Mamdouh states, “We were forced to cross the border back to Sudan due to increased pressure from Ethiopian authorities, while hundreds of us were transferred to a nearby transit camp in Matamma, where we were hosted in a camp in the city of Qalabat that lacks basic necessities for life.”

Human Rights Watch reported that many refugees felt they had no choice but to return to Sudan, often becoming separated from their families in the process. While Ethiopian officials claimed that this return was voluntary, Human Rights Watch’s investigation found instances where refugees felt coerced.

Refugees at the transit camp in Matamma complain of food shortages, forcing them to eat leftover tomatoes and potatoes. The situation has worsened, especially regarding health services. Dr. Mohamed Abdel Salam, one of the refugees in the camp, stated that the humanitarian conditions are deteriorating due to a lack of water and food, forcing refugees to drink rainwater and bathe in stagnant water, which poses a significant risk, especially for children. He added that water supplies reach the camp every two days, making the available amounts insufficient for drinking. However, refugee Mohamed Mohamedin revealed to Radio Dabanga that the distribution of food aid by the World Food Program resumed on Tuesday after a week-long interruption due to the entry of Fano militias into the camp.

Security tensions and clashes between Fano militias and the federal army limit access to humanitarian aid, health services, and water supply in the transit and Aftit camps.

According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, security and services in the Matamma camp are a concern, and access to services, especially life-saving ones such as healthcare, is also challenging due to the lack of an ambulance.

Mamdouh continues, “Conditions in the reception camp in Qalabat were extremely poor and lacked all necessities for survival.” He adds, “We had to hasten our departure from the camp, especially after the governor of Qadarif state offered us a choice between working in agriculture or joining the popular resistance camps to fight alongside the army.”

He adds, “We had no choice but to leave, especially after we received financial support from an organization alongside aid from our relatives. My choice, along with colleagues who accompanied me on the journey to Ethiopia, was to head to Libya in search of a new path for migration, seeking a safe haven. We reached the city of Kufra in Libya after indescribable suffering, while others headed to Egypt and South Sudan via known smuggling routes.

The Refugee Agency announced that it had strengthened its plan to support Sudanese refugees in Libya, where the number of refugees has reached 97,000, with 350 refugees arriving daily via the city of Kufra, which is under significant pressure on its infrastructure. Of these, 65,000 refugees are concentrated in the city of Kufra alone.