Monday, 14 December 2020 15:42

Warning: Tigray faces a food emergency

Written by Eritrea Hub

DECEMBER 14, 2020 ERITREA HUB ETHIOPIA, NEWS

Emergency (IPC Phase 4) expected in parts of Tigray in 2021 if access constraints persist

A IPC Phase 4 means that the households have large food consumption gaps which are reflected in very high acute malnutrition and excess mortality. It is one below Phase 5 – Famine

December 11, 2020

FIGURE 1

Contribution of PSNP* expressed as a percent of annual food needs by livelihood zone in Tigray

*Cash PSNP was converted into food terms and added to the food distribution, then calculated as a percent of the annual kilocalorie needs. A weighted average was taken across all wealth groups.

Source:

USAID HEA Activity and government of Ethiopia

In November, tensions between the national and regional governments developed into widespread conflict in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. The conflict has driven large-scale displacement, with populations fleeing to areas not directly under attack, neighboring Afar and Amhara Regions, and Sudan. The movement of goods and people, food assistance delivery, and many economic activities have largely halted. Insecurity in the region is likely to persist in the near term, disrupting access to food and income into 2021. High food assistance needs are expected now through at least the next harvest in late 2021 in eastern and southern areas of Tigray, and among displaced populations in Afar, Amhara, and Sudan. Urgent action is needed to reverse restrictions to movement and activities, to open humanitarian space for all humanitarian actors, and to resume and immediately scale up humanitarian assistance necessary to meet basic food needs and prevent further deterioration in food security.

Since the outbreak of conflict on November 4, fighting was primarily focused along main roadways running west to east in the region, though the full extent of conflict is likely still unknown as telecommunication services remain limited. The government imposed a six-month state of emergency on November 6. Fighting was concentrated in western Tigray, but moved eastward as the month progressed, and continues in localized areas of Tigray, with federal forces taking control of the regional capital Mekele in late November. According to UNHCR, as of December 9, nearly 50,000 people have fled to Sudan. While no official figures are available, reports indicate people have also fled to neighboring Amhara and Afar regions and that many are likely displaced within Tigray.

Poor households in Tigray rely on their own crop production and income earned through agricultural and non-agricultural labor to meet their basic food needs. When the conflict erupted, the main season meher harvest was ongoing. Available information suggests that conflict has been relatively low in rural areas, allowing many rural households to continue harvesting and consuming crops. However, reporting also suggests that some rural households in areas affected by conflict have abandoned or cannot access their fields. Furthermore, given official movement restrictions, fear of moving due to the conflict, and reduced intra- and inter-region trade flows, economic activity is generally reduced. Restricted movement is especially damaging to poor households in the deficit-producing mid- and highland areas who rely heavily on labor migration to surplus areas in the western lowlands. Income from labor migration was already negatively affected in 2020 by the COVID-19 related movement restrictions. In addition, livestock sales, an important income source among middle and better-off households throughout the region, are limited by reduced market functioning. Since this income helps support the local economy, generating demand for local agricultural labor, a reduction in livestock sales has knock-on effects for poorer households. Overall, poor households’ access to income has notably decreased.

At the same time, extremely high food prices are further constraining access to food. Information from those who recently left Tigray suggests the destruction of infrastructure, regional border closures, and fuel shortages have resulted in limited food supplies in markets, putting significant upward pressure on food and non-food prices, which were already above average.

The ongoing conflict has also prevented the delivery of humanitarian food assistance and Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) permanent direct support. More than 300,000 people in Tigray, including internally displaced people (IDP) and refugees, typically receive humanitarian food assistance every six weeks, though it is expected they have not received a distribution since October due to the conflict. An estimated 1 million people in Tigray receive PSNP support, covering up to 50 percent of basic kilocalorie needs among poor and very poor households (Figure 1). While most PSNP beneficiaries receive distributions between February and July, roughly 250,000 permanent direct support beneficiaries, including the elderly and disabled, receive year-round assistance. It is believed that these beneficiaries have not received a distribution since August as the federal government did not transfer cash to the region following the tension due to the regional election. On December 2, the federal government and UN announced a humanitarian corridor was opening to government-controlled areas. Humanitarian assistance has likely reached some areas, as the NDRMC reported on December 8, though this is difficult to confirm. However, PSNP distributions are likely to be limited in the short to medium term as the resumption of deliveries, which require federal government funds, will depend on the implementation support of the regional government.

Localized conflict and some displacement in Tigray are expected to continue into 2021. Economic activity is expected to somewhat improve as the military offensive has largely ended; however, with the anticipated continuation of the state of emergency coupled with damaged infrastructure, some disruption to the movement of people and goods is likely through at least mid-2021.

Food security among displaced, urban, and some poor rural households has notably declined. With the availability of the harvest, particularly in surplus-producing western areas, most poor households are likely meeting their immediate short-term food needs; however, Crisis (IPC Phase 3) outcomes are anticipated in several eastern, central, and southern areas, including some urban and peri-urban areas, of Tigray. Anecdotal reports suggest that IDP and poor households in bordering areas of Amhara and Afar are also having difficulty accessing food and other basic supplies due to limited market activities with Tigray; Crisis (IPC Phase 3) outcomes are also likely among these populations. It is expected that some direct beneficiaries of PSNP who have not received assistance since August are likely facing wide food consumption gaps indicative of Emergency (IPC Phase 4). FEWS NET currently anticipates that PSNP deliveries are likely to resume by mid-2021 and that humanitarian assistance will be delivered to some areas starting in the coming months. However, in the absence of assistance and PSNP, additional very poor households are likely to deteriorate to Emergency (IPC Phase 4) in the coming months with the depletion of the harvest, and area-level Emergency (IPC Phase 4) outcomes would be likely in early 2021. Urgent action is needed to enable the immediate scale up of food assistance necessary to meet basic food needs and prevent further deterioration in food security.

Monday, 14 December 2020 09:57

ጉዳይ ስደተኛታት፡ እዋናዊ ቀዳምነትና’ዩ

Written by ቤት ጽሕፈት ዜና ሰዲህኤ

ርእሰ-ዓንቀጽ ሰዲህኤ

ኣብዚ እዋንዚ ኣብ ቅድሜና ዘለዉ ክንዘራረበሎም ዝግበኣና፡ ግን ከኣ ናይ ለውጢ መስመር ቃልስና ከየስሕቱና ክንጥንቀቐሎም ዝግበኣና እዋናውያን ዛዕባታት ኣዝዮም ብዙሓት እዮም። “ሓይልታት ምክልኻል ኤርትራ ኣብዚ ኣብ ትግራይ ዝካየድ ዘሎ ውግእ ተሳቲፉዶ ኣይፋሉን? ኣብዚ ውግእ ዘስዓቦ ኣሰላልፋ መን ምስ መን ኣሎ? ካብቶም ገኒኖም ኣዛረብቲ ኮይኖም ዘለዉ እዮም።

እዞም ኣቐዲሞም ዝተጠቕሱ ናይ ዞባን ዓለምን ኣጀንዳ’ውን ኮይኖም ዘለዉ ዛዕባታት፡ ብዝያዳ ነቶም ኣንጻር ህግደፍ ዝተሰለፍና፡ ኤርትራውያን ኣዛረብቲ ክኾኑ ግድን እዩ። ምኽንያቱ ንመጻኢ ዕድል ኤርትራን ህዝባን ኮነ ነቲ ነካይዶ ዘለና ህዝባዊ ዲሞክራስያዊ ለውጢ ናይ ምርግጋጽ ቃልስና ኣዝዮም ጸለውቲ ስለ ዝኾኑ። ኣብዚ ሓይልታት ምክልኻል ኤርትራ ኣብ ውግእ ትግራይ ምስ ፈደራላዊ መንግስቲ ኢትዮጵያ ተሰሊፉ ኣንጻር ትግራይ ምስታፉን ዘይምስታፉን፡ ብሕብእብእ ዝሕለፍ ኣይኮነን። ምኽንያቱ ኣባላት ሓይልታት ምክልኻል ኤርትራ ደቂ ውሑዳት መራሕቲ ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ዘይኮኑ፡ ደቂ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ እዮም። እቲ ጉጅለ ንኢድ ኣእታውነቱ ዝምልከት ሓቂ ክነግረና ከይተጸበና፡ ናይቶም ኣብቲ ውግእ ተሳቲፎም ዝተወግኡ፡ ዝሞቱን ሃለዋቶም ዝጠፍኡን ወለድን ስድራቤታትን ሓዘኖምን ሻቕሎቶምን ይገልጹ ስለ ዘለዉ፡ ነቲ በለካ ለኸዓካ ገዲፍና፡ ነቲ ክዉን ከም መርተዖ ምውሳዱ ናይቲ ሕቶ መልሲ እዩ። እቲ “መን ምስ መን ይስለፍ?” ዝብል ኣብ ዝርዝር ከይኣተናን ብስምዒት ከይተደፋእናን፡ ኣየንኡ እዩ ርትዓውን ኤርትራዊ ረብሓ ዘረጋግጽን ዝብል ሕቶ ብዝምልስ መዐቀኒ ክንመዝኖ ይግበኦ። ናይ ክሳብ ሕጂ ኣቕጣጫ ኢሳያስን ናይ ብዙሓት ንኤርትራ ካብ ርእሳ ዘይወረዱላ ኢትዮጵያውያን ተንተንትን ጠመተ፡ ናበይ ገጹ የመዓዱ ከም ዘሎ ምስትብሃል ግና ኣዝዩ ኣገዳሲ እዩ።

“ኤርትራዊ ረብሓ” ዝብል ኣምር ብብዙሕ ኩርንዓት ዝረአ፡ ነብሱ ዝኸኣለ ዝርዝር ዘለዎ ኮይኑ፡ እቲ ኣብዚ እዋንዚ ቅድሚት ክንሰርዖ ዝግበኣና መዓቀኒ “ኤርትራዊ ህልውናን ልኡላውነትን” ክኸውን ከም ዝግበኦ ከነስተውዕል ይግበኣና። ብዝኾነ ይኹን ዝጸንሐን ዘሎን ፍልልያትን ህልኽን ኣወንዚፍና፡ ነዚ መሰረታዊ መዐቀኒ ክንስሕቶ ኣይግበኣናን። ምሕዝነት ኢሳይስ ኣፈወርቅን ዶ/ር ኣብይ ኣሕመድን ቀጻሊ መደባቶምን ሓደጋኡ ኣብ ልዕሊ ኤርትራን እንታይ ክኸውን ከም ዝኽእል ኣድቂቕካ ምግማት ከገድሰና እዩ። እዚ ንዕዘቦ ዘለና ናይ ጉጅለ ህግድፍ ከለፍለፍን ዘይምኽኑይ ኢድ ኣእታውነቱ ኣብ ውግእ ትግራይን ድሮ ህይወት ብዙሓት መንእሰያትን ንብረት ህዝቢ ኤርትራን ኣኽፊሉና ምህላዉ ውሁብ እዩ። እቲ ክስዕብ ዝኽእል ዘስገኣና ዋጋ ምውጋዱ ኮነ ምንካዩ ከኣ ብቃልስና ዝውሰን እዩ።

እቲ ከሻቕለናን ከተሓሳስበናን ዝግበኦ ካልእ ጉዳይ፡ እቲ ብሰንኪ ኢትዮጵያዊ መግዛእቲ ካብ 1967 ጀሚሩ ካብ ኤርትራውያን ዘይለቐቐ ስደትን መሪር ሳዕቤናቱን እዩ። ስደት ኤርትራውያን ብሰንክቲ ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ፊን ኣብ ዘዝበሎ ዝጽሕትሮ ውግኣት ክሳብ ሎሚ ኣይተገትአን። ስደት ኣብዚ እዋንዚ እዋናዊ ቀዳምነትና ዝኾነሉ ከኣ፡ ሃለዋት ኤርትራውያን ኣብ ኢትዮጵያን፡ ብፍላይ ድማ ኣብቲ ውግእ ዝካየደሉ ዘሎ ክልል ትግራይ ኣብ መደበር ስደተኛታት፡ ሽመልባ፡ ሕንጻጽ፡ ማይ ዓይንን ዓዲ ሓርሽን እዩ። እዚ መደበር ስደተኛታት ካብ ቀደሙ ስግኣትን ናይ ቀረባት ዋሕድን ዘይተፈልዮ ምንባሩ ዝዝከር እዩ ። እዚ ሎሚ ዝያዳ ዓሪጉ ዘሎ ስግኣት ከምቲ “ጠባይ መደበር ስደተኛ እዩ” ኢልና ክንሓልፎ ዝጸናሕና ኣይኮነን። እቲ መደበራት ስደተኛ ዝርከበሉ ከባቢ ቀጻሊ ውግእ ዝካየደሉ ዘሎ ብምዃኑ ኣይኮነንዶ ንዓና ሰብ ጉዳይ፡ ንዓለም እውን ኣሻቒሉ ዘሎ እዩ። ኣብዚ ውግእ ሓይልታት ምክልኻል ኤርትራ ይሳተፍ ስለ ዘሎን ጉጅለ ህግድፍ ኣብ ልዕሊቶም ራሕሪሐምዎ ዝተሰዱ መንእሰያት ሕነ ካብ ምፍዳይ ድሕር ከምዘይብል ስለ እንፈልጥ ሻቕሎትና ዝያዳ ክኸውን ግድን እዩ። ስግኣትን ሻቕሎትን ጥራይ ዘይኮነ ብግብሪ’ውን ብሰንክዚ ውግእ ኤርትራውያን ስደተኛታት ግዳይ ኮይኖም ከም ዘለዉ ከካብ ኩርናዑ ስግኣታት ይቃልሑ ኣለዉ።

ኣብዚ መደበር ስደተኛታት ብፍላይ ካብ 30 ሕዳር 2020 ንደሓር ሕክምና ኮነ ዝቕመስን ዝለሓስን የለን። ናይቶም ስደተኛታት ንብረት ዝርካቡን ናይቲ መደበራት ኣብያተ-ጽሕፈትን እውን ተዘሚቱ እዩ። እቲ ብሕጊ ዘይምራሕን ሕጊ ዘየኽብርን ጉጅለ ህግዲፍ ካብዚ መደበራት ስደተኛታት መንእሰያት ብሓይሊ ገፊፉ ናብ ኤርትራ ክወስድ እዩ ዝብል ስግኣት ሰማይ ዓሪጉ ዘሎ ስግኣት እዩ። ንመደብር ሽመልባ ጠቒሶም ብግብሪ ወሲዱ ኣብ ባረንቱን ከባቡኡን ኣስፊርዎም ዝብሉ ወገናት እውን ኣለዉ። ላዕለዋይ ኮሚሽን ጉዳይ ስደተኛታትን ካልኦት ሰብኣዊ ትካላትን ናይቲ መደበራት ደሃይ ዝፈልጥሉ መንገዲ ስለ ዝተዓጽወ ኣብ ሻቕሎት ኣለዉ። ኣብቲ መደበራት ሰብኣዊ ኣገልግሎት ይህቡ ናይ ዝነበሩ ትካላት ኣባላት ኣብ ሽረ ከም እተቐትሉ እውን ይንገር ኣሎ። ካብ ኤርትራውያን ስደተኛታት እውን ኣብ ከባቢ’ቲ መደበራት ብሰንኪ ዝተኻየደ ውግእ ዝሞቱን ዝትወግኡን ከም ዘለዉ ተፈሊጡ ኣሎ።

ዓቕሎም ዝጸበቦም ኣብቲ መደበራት ዝነበሩ ኤርትራውያን ስደተኛታት “ነብሰይ ኣውጽእኒ” ብዝብል ብሓፈሻ ናብ ሱዳን ሓዊስካ፡ ናብ ኩሉ ኩርንዓት፡ ብፍላይ ከኣ ብመንገዲ ማይ ጸብሪ፡ ለማልሞ፡ ዳባትን ጐንደርን ብዝረኸብዎ ኣጋጣሚ ብእግሪ ይኹን ብመጐዓዝያ፡ ናብ ማእከል ኢትዮጵያ ክኸዱ ዝፈተኑ ብዙሓት እዮም። በዚ ፈተነኦም ክሳብ ኣዲስ ኣበባ ዝበጽሑ ኣለዉ። ኣዝዮም ብዙሓት ከኣ ኣማኢት ብር ጨቐቕ ኢሎም ከፊሎም፡ ናብ ኣዲስ ኣበባ ገጾም ብኣውቶቡሳት እንዳተጓዕዙ ካብ ከባብታት ዓደርቃይ፡ ደባርቕ፡ ዳባትን ጐንደርን ብወተሃደራዊ ሓይሊ ተገዲዶም “ድሕሪ ሕጂ ክንሕልወኩም ኢና” ብዝብል ሸፈጥ፡ ናብቲ ውሕስነት ስለ ዝሰኣንሉ ዝገደፍዎ ናይ ትግራይን ኣምሓራን ፍሉያት ሓይልታትን መልሻን ዝዋግእሉ ዘለዉ ዝባደመ መደበራት ዝተመልሱ ኣለዉ።

ስለዚ ጉዳይ ኤርትራውያን ስደተኛታት ኣብ ኢትዮጵያ ኣዝዩ ተሃዋሲ ስለ ዝኾነ፡ እዋናዊ ቀዳምነትና ጌርና ክንወስዶ ይግበኣና። ቅድሚ ኩሉ ናብ ኤርትራ ከይዶም ግዳይ ማእሰርትን ቅትለትን ከይኮኑ ነቲ ዝምልከቶም ኣካላት ዘስምዕዎ ዘለዉ ምሕጽንታ ከነራጉዶ ንጽዓት። ካብዚ ሓሊፍና ዝዕንገልሉ ዕድል ንምፍጣር ከምቲ ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ (ሰዲህኤ) ነዚ ጉዳይዚ ብዝምልከት “ኣብ’ዛ ፈታኒት እዋን እዚኣ ነዞም ኣብ ሓደጋ ዝርከቡ ስደተኛታት ዜጋታትና ኣድላዪ ሓገዝን ሓለዋን ክግበረሎም ንኹሎም ብቐረባ ዝምልከቶምን ንኣህጉራዊ ሕብረተሰብ ብሓፈሻን ኣጥቢቕና ንሓትት። ነቶም ካብ ናይ ውግእ ዞባ ወጻኢ፡ ኣብ ካልእ ቦታታት ኢትዮጵያ ዘለዉ ድማ ንድሕነቶም ህጹጽ ኣቓልቦን ደገፍን ክግበረሎም ምሕጽንታና ነቕርብ።” ዝበሎ፡ ካባና ዝሓሸ ዓቕምን ድምጽን ምስ ዘለዎም ሓቢርና “ኣለናልኩም” ዝብል ድምጽና ነስምዕ። ኩለን ኤርትራውያን ፖለቲካዊ ሓይልታትን ህዝባዊ ምንቅስቓሳትን ብተናጸል ኮነ ብእኩብ፡ ድምጸን ከስምዓን ተጽዕኖአን ከዛይዳን እዋኑዩ።

ኣንታ ወትሩ በትሪ ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ኮይንካ ህዝብኻ ከይትብድል እሞ ደሓር ከየጣዕሰካ እነተሓሳስበካ ሓይልታት ምክልኻል ኤርትራ፡ ሎሚ እውን ኣስተውዕል። ኣበይን ምእንቲ ምንታይ ትዋጋእ ከም ዘለኻ፡ ዋላ ተደንጐየ ኣይሓለፈን እሞ ሎሚ’ውን ሕሰበሉ። ኣብ ዘይጉዳይካ ኣንጻር ህወሓት ናይ ምውጋእ ጉጉይ መንገዲ ተጐዝጒዝካ፡ ኣብ ልዕሊ ዓለም ለኻዊ ዑቕባ ዘለዎም ኣሕዋትካን ኣሓትካን ኤርትራውያን ስደተኛታት፡ ብህግደፍ ናይ ዝፍጸም በደል ኢደበይዛ ኣይትኹን። ጽባሕ ካብ ምጠዓስ ሎሚ ሕሰብ። እንዳ ረኣኻ እንዳሰማዕካ ትወስዶ ንዘለኻ ስጉምቲ፡ ኩሉ ግዜ ነቲ ጉጅለ ጥራይ ኣላጊብናሉ እንሓልፍ ኣይኮነን። ለኣኻይ ናቱ እጃም ኣለዎ። ተዓሚቱ ዘዝተላእኮ ዘዕኑ ኣካል’ውን ብጽሒት ከም ዘለዎ ኣይትዘንግዕ። ስለዚ ከምቲ ስምካ ዝሕብሮ፡ ናይ ህዝብኻ ተኸላኻሊ እምበር ናይቲ ጉጅለ ተለኣኣኺ ኣይትኹን።

Published in EPDP Editorial

Radio Dimtsi Harnnet Sweden 12.12.2020

Written by Dimtsi Harnnet

Published in Radio

‘Overwhelming’ reports of killings of Eritreans in Tigray: UN

Written by Aljazeera

UN’s refugee agency says it received large number of reports of Eritrean refugees in Ethiopian region being killed, abducted and forcibly returned to Eritrea.

UNHCR and other aid agencies have not had access to the four main camps hosting for Eritrean refugees [File: Tiksa Negeri/Reuters]

11 Dec 2020

The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said it has received an “overwhelming” number of reports about Eritrean refugees in Tigray being killed, abducted or forcibly returned to Eritrea since fighting in Ethiopia’s northernmost region began more than a month ago.

“If confirmed, these actions would constitute a major violation of international law,” UNHCR head Filippo Grandi said in a statement on Friday, adding his agency has met some refugees in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa.

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“It is vital that Eritrean refugees be able to move to safe locations, and receive protection and assistance wherever possible, including outside of Tigray, given the traumatic events they report to have witnessed or survived,” he added.

UNHCR and other aid agencies have not had access to the four main camps hosting for Eritrean refugees – Shimelba, Hitsats, Mai-Ayni and Adi Harush – inside Tigray, since fighting erupted in early November between the government and the region’s former ruling Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

Ethiopia’s army has captured the regional capital Mekelle and declared victory, but TPLF leaders said they are fighting back on various fronts around the highland city. Most communications in Tigray are down and access to the area is severely restricted, making it hard to verify either side’s statements.

TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael said in text messages to Reuters News Agency this month that Eritrean soldiers had raided two camps in Tigray and abducted some residents, but provided no evidence. Eritrea has denied this.

The refugees living in camps in Ethiopia near the border of their homeland are in an especially precarious position. Eritreans often leave to escape mandatory, indefinite military service and repression or search for better opportunities out of what has long been one of the world’s most isolated countries.

Earlier this week, Ethiopia’s government admitted federal troops fired at and briefly detained UN workers in Tigray region, blaming them for trying to reach areas where “they were not supposed to go”.

In his statement on Friday, Grandi called on the Ethiopian government to implement steps to ensure safe access for humanitarian workers in Tigray.

“Such access is urgently needed so we can provide desperately needed assistance to refugees and other vulnerable populations.”

Refugees returned back

Grandi’s statement came hours after Ethiopia’s government said it was returning Eritrean refugees to the Tigray camps, asserting that its recently completed military offensive against the forces loyal to TPLF “was not a direct threat” to the 96,000 Eritrean refugees registered in Ethiopia – even as aid groups said four staffers had been killed in the fighting, at least one in a refugee camp.

“A large number of misinformed refugees are moving out in an irregular manner,” the government said in a statement.

“The government is safely returning those refugees to their respective camps,” the statement said, adding that food was being transported to the camps.

The UNHCR was not informed of any planned relocation of refugees in Ethiopia, Babar Baloch, a UNHCR spokesman, told reporters in Geneva. He called the reports “alarming”.

He added, “While we cannot speculate at this time, any refoulement would be absolutely unacceptable.” Refoulement means forcing refugees to return to the country they fled from.

Ato Addisu, deputy head of Ethiopia’s state-run Agency for Refugee and Returnee Affairs, said, “A return to Eritrea would never happen unless they request by themselves – this is against international law”.

Approximately 580 refugees were on the buses to Tigray, he told Reuters.

‘We were getting so scared’

The news agency reported receiving frantic calls from refugees in the capital who had been told they would be bused back to Tigray but feared they were being taken back to Eritrea.

“Please come, please come, the buses are here!” one woman yelled as children wept in the background. Another woman said Eritreans faced mounting hostility from Tigrayans who accuse Eritrea of sending troops into Ethiopia to help Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government battle the TPLF.

Both countries have denied this, although the US State Department said on Thursday that it believes reports of Eritrean military involvement in the conflict in Ethiopia are “credible”.

“Some Tigrayan people beat up my husband,” the refugee said. “People there were saying – ‘your country is coming here and attacking us. So you – we will kill you too.’ We were getting so scared.”

The International Organization for Migration said it was “extremely concerned” about the refugees’ “forced” return and denied it was involved, saying Ethiopia took over one of its transit centres in Addis Ababa on December 3.

An Eritrean who lives in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, told Al Jazeera last month the camps were in “big trouble”.

Even before the conflict, people there were complaining about poor services, and a lack of food or electricity, which led many refugees in the Tigray region to move to cities to try and find work.

Eritrea has long faced accusations of large-scale rights abuses. It has accused Western powers of smear campaigns and luring Eritreans abroad, which they have denied.

Source=‘Overwhelming’ reports of killings of Eritreans in Tigray: UN | Humanitarian Crises News | Al Jazeera