UN reports “forced” recruitment of Ethiopian refugees in Sudan

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

September 7, 2022 (NAIROBI) – The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Wednesday disclosed that forced military recruitment was taking place at refugee camps in eastern Sudan where Ethiopian refugees are sheltered.

The alleged report of military recruitment by the UN agency comes days after the resumption of fighting between Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and Ethiopian government forces last week, ending a humanitarian truce committed by both parties some six months ago.

The UN refugee agency told the BBC Amharic service that it had received “credible reports” months ago of efforts to recruit fighters among the Ethiopian refugees, and sometimes by force.

The UNHCR officials said they had reported their concerns to the Sudanese central government and local authorities.

Following this, the situation appeared to have improved, the UNHCR said, without giving further details including measures taken by Sudanese authorities.

It is not clear the number of recruited fighters or when the recruitment was carried out.

Citing multiple refugee sources, UNHCR further said that there were people coming from Ethiopia to carry out the military recruitment in Sudan.

The UN agency however could not confirm which of the warring parties was carrying out the military recruitment.

The Sudanese government recently closed the Hamdayet border reception centre citing fears for the safety of the refugees and aid workers.

Previously, Addis Ababa has repeatedly accused TPLF people, who were registered as refugees in Sudan, of recruiting Tigrayans to fight alongside Tigray forces.

It also didn’t say if Sudanese officials were involved in the alleged military recruitment.

Last week, Bloomberg reported that former Ethiopia peacekeepers deployed in Abyei who had defected from the army and settled in refugee camps have joined the TPLF ranks.

Getachew Reda, the TPLF Spokesman, confirmed to the new agency that the former peacekeepers had entered western Tigray.

Since the onset of the conflict, the Ethiopian government has been accusing Sudan of providing support to TPLF fighters, an allegation both Khartoum and Tigray leaders dismiss.

UNHCR said a renewed war in northern Ethiopia will bring more misery and suffering to the war-affected civilians. The violence will force more people to flee from their homes in search of safety and humanitarian aid.

Also, the UN refugee agency expressed concern about the lack of funds to provide humanitarian aid to the refugees in Sudan and elsewhere.

After the Tigray conflict erupted in November 2020, tens of thousands of people from the war-ravaged Ethiopia’s Tigray region fled to Eastern Sudan.

Most of these refugees were sheltered in Um Rakuba refugee camp and Tunaydbah refugee camp.

Following the renewed clashes in northern Ethiopia, the UN refugee agency said that it is monitoring the potential presence of new arrivals in Sudan.

So far, it said, there are no reports of new arrivals from shelters or the Hamdayet border reception centre.

In addition, the organization said that no harm was done to humanitarian workers in Sudan during the ongoing war in Ethiopia.

(ST)