Ethiopia: Battles and abuses put Sudanese refugees at risk
Thousands in Amhara camps need security and relocation to safer places
- Recent fighting between Ethiopian government forces and militias in the northwestern Amhara region is putting Sudanese refugees at grave risk.
- For more than a year, unidentified gunmen have killed, beaten, kidnapped, and forced labor the refugees.
- The Ethiopian government should take appropriate measures to protect Sudanese refugees, prevent forced returns, and ensure adequate humanitarian assistance with international support.
(Nairobi) – Recent fighting between Ethiopian government forces and Fano militias in northwestern Amhara region is putting Sudanese refugees in camps in and around the Sudanese border at serious risk, Human Rights Watch said today. The Ethiopian government should step up protection for the refugees, who for more than a year have been subjected to abuses and attacks by unidentified armed men, militias, and, most recently, government forces.
Since the outbreak of armed conflict in Sudan in April 2023, tens of thousands of Sudanese and other nationalities have sought refuge in Ethiopia. Most initially went to two refugee camps in Amhara region, where armed men and militias killed, beat, robbed, kidnapped for ransom, and forced labor. In July 2024, Ethiopian authorities and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) relocated thousands of refugees to a new camp in Amhara. Since early September, the Fano, an Amhara armed group, have clashed with federal forces near the refugee camps and occupied some sites, increasing the risk of attacks on refugees.
Laetitia Bader, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch, said: “Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia have been targets of abuse for more than a year by various armed actors. “These refugees are fleeing horrific abuses in their homeland and desperately need protection, not more threats to their lives.
Between May and September, Human Rights Watch interviewed 20 Sudanese refugees by phone in three refugee camps and a temporary center in Amhara region, and spoke with Sudanese activists and aid workers. Human Rights Watch also analyzed satellite imagery of the camps and the temporary center, as well as videos and photos sent to researchers or posted online. Human Rights Watch sent its preliminary findings to UNHCR and the Ethiopian government’s Department of Refugee and Returnee Affairs and received responses on September 25 and October 8, respectively.
Since June 2023, unidentified armed men and local militias have repeatedly targeted refugees in the Kumar and Olalla camps in the West Gondar region. They have committed serious abuses, including at least three killings. Human Rights Watch found that the federal government established these camps in areas with frequent crime and intercommunal clashes, even before the Amhara conflict, and has provided limited security in the camps.
On May 1, after months of violent events, more than 1,000 Sudanese refugees left the camps in protest and tried to reach the UNHCR office in the town of Gondar. Ethiopian police confronted the refugees, forcing them to hide in a forest along the road.
One 45-year-old refugee said: “We left Sudan in search of safety, but the beatings and robberies [in Ethiopia] are too much for us to bear. “We have been suffering from this for a year, and every time [Ethiopian authorities] promise something, nothing changes. We can’t take it anymore.”
In late July, UNHCR and the Department of Refugee and Returnee Affairs relocated more than 2,000 refugees from Olala and Kumer to the recently established Aftet camp, also in the West Gondar region. Many refugees in Olala Forest refused to move to Aftet, fearing further violence. But armed men attacked them on an almost daily basis, forcing them to leave the forest on August 8 and move to the town of al-Matma near the Sudanese border.
Ethiopian authorities initially allowed them to set up temporary roadside dwellings. But on August 21, the Ethiopian military ordered the refugees to move to the temporary center in Metema. When the refugees refused, security forces demolished their temporary housing and beat them.
A 45-year-old refugee said: “I was hit on my right ribs five times. My children were crying. Someone asked the military and police to stop beating me in front of my children. They started cursing us, saying that if we didn’t want to stay in Ethiopia we should go back to our country, Sudan.”
A few hundred of these refugees were sent back to Sudan. She said they returned voluntarily. However, many refugees told Human Rights Watch that government security forces forcibly returned them to Sudan, sometimes separating families. The Department of Refugee and Returnee Affairs said there is “no reason to send refugees back to Sudan, because the situation there does not allow for return.”
On September 1, fighting between the Fano and the Ethiopian army intensified near the Metema temporary center and the Aftet camp.
Ethiopia is party to the 1969 United Nations Convention on the Status of Refugees and the 1969 Organization of African Unity Convention on Refugees, both of which prohibit refoulement – the return of refugees to a place where their life or freedom may be threatened. This includes so-called “constructive repatriation,” in which a government directly or indirectly pressures refugees to feel compelled to return to their home country. In May 2023, UNHCR guidance called on states to suspend all forcible returns to Sudan, due to ongoing insecurity and danger.
The warring parties to the armed conflict in Amhara are bound by international humanitarian law. Both government forces and non-state armed groups are prohibited from attacking civilians and civilian objects and are obliged to take all feasible measures to minimize harm to civilians and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Refugees are protected as civilians, as are refugee camps, unless they are used for military reasons.
All military forces and armed groups should end abuses against refugees, stay out of camps, and facilitate the safe delivery of humanitarian aid, Human Rights Watch said.
Ethiopia’s international partners should press Ethiopia to ensure protection for refugees, stop refoulement, and increase humanitarian support for refugees, including transportation to safer areas.
UNHCR told Human Rights Watch that it continues to advocate for the expansion of refugee relocation areas outside of Ethiopia. The Department of Refugee and Returnee Affairs said it is “constantly monitoring the situation to adapt protection strategies in response to any developments in the conflict” and that the international community’s response to its call for greater support has been minimal.
Bader said: “The Ethiopian government should fulfill its duty to protect refugees in its own areas and relocate them as far away from the conflict zone as possible. “Ethiopia’s international partners should increase their support for these refugees so they can access medical care, food, shelter, and other emergency assistance.
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