Ethiopia: Conflict, violence displaced 300,000 this year
By Tesfa-alem Tekle
September 8, 2009(ADDIS ABABA)– A review by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre(IDMC) of 2009 indicates that human right violations and conflicts have continued to cause huge internal displacement in Ethiopia which for decades have been among worse affected of famine and conflicts.
In 2009, there have been various reports of internal displacement resulting from conflicts and human rights violations perpetrated by the army and groups opposed to the Ethiopian government, the group’s review said.
IDMC said that even though numbers of people displaced by conflict and human rights violations in Ethiopia is not easy to establish, the UN and other international organizations estimate that over 300,000 people remain displaced by conflict or violence in Ethiopia in the year 2009.
It further said, in February 2009 alone, some 160,000 people were driven from their homes by conflict between the Garre ethnic group of the Somali region and Boron of the Oromiya region over a contested piece of land.
The ongoing conflicts in Somali Region between the army and the Ogaden National Liberation Front, and in the south and south-west of the country with the Oromo Liberation Front, both pose serious security, humanitarian and protection challenges.
The impact on civilians of the conflict in Somali Region has been likened to that of Darfur Displacement in Ethiopia but there is no evidence of durable solutions for IDPs.
In an interview with Al-Jazeera TV in August 2009, Genocide Watch founder and President Gregory Stanton and the human rights activist Fowsia Abdulkadir described the situation there as “genocide-like” situation comparable to Darfur.
Even though Ethiopia is actively involved in the drafting of the African Union convention on internally displaced people, there is growing evidence to suggest that conflicts in the country have far-reaching implications for protection and humanitarian assistance for internally displaced people, it further said.
According to the annual review, the absence of political efforts to resolve internal conflicts and the continuing border tension with Eritrea presents an ongoing serious risk of renewed conflict and displacement in the Horn of Africa.
(ST)