More than 2,800 Sudanese refugees in the Ulala area of Ethiopia’s Amhara region began a hunger strike on Thursday due to insecurity and deteriorating living conditions. They are demanding relocation to a safer place.
Meanwhile, Sudanese refugees in the Kurmuk area of Ethiopia’s Benishangul-Gumuz region have complained about incomplete official registration and inadequate health and shelter services.
The hunger strike comes as the Sudanese refugees continue their sit-in at the Komer and Ulala camps for the fourth week, demanding relocation due to ongoing attacks by local militias and a lack of essential services.
Abdul Aziz Mohammed, a refugee leader in the Ulala camp, told Radio Dabanga that 2,843 refugees are participating in the hunger strike. Excluded from the strike are 2,133 children, 76 people with disabilities, 1,196 pregnant women, 327 nursing women, and dozens of elderly individuals.
Abdul Aziz Mohammed explained that the hunger strike aims to put more pressure on authorities to meet their demands. He noted that food supplies are running low, leading to the allocation of the remaining provisions to children, the elderly, and people with disabilities.
Abdul Aziz added that they have been protesting for over three weeks in the Ulala forest, two kilometers from the camp. “The suffering increases daily, and the humanitarian situation worsens, especially during the rainy season, with heavy rainfall, lack of shelter, and increasing hardship for the sick, children, infants, and women,” he said.
However, Faith Kasini, spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the Horn of Africa and East Africa, commented on the refugees’ protest on May 8, saying, “UNHCR and its partner, World Vision International, have set up a mobile health clinic in the area to provide medical support if needed.”
The Ethiopian Refugees and Returnees Service also announced on the same day that a mobile health team had been deployed to provide medical assistance to refugees and asylum seekers.
According to the UNHCR, more than 53,500 Sudanese refugees have crossed the border into Ethiopia, with roughly half in the Amhara region and the other half in the Benishangul-Gumuz region.
