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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

ETHIOPIA: UN officials gain access to troubled camp

ADDIS ABABA, 13 January 2003 (IRIN) - UN officials have made their first visit to a troubled refugee camp in western Ethiopia where more than 40 people were killed during ethnic clashes two months ago.

But the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said tensions in Ethiopia's remote Fugnido camp still remained high.

In a statement released after the visit, UNHCR also said 531 refugees were moved from the camp to another refugee centre for their safety.

Increasing tensions between rival ethnic groups sparked the clashes, which broke out in late November. There was also some looting after aid workers had to pull out of the camp - which is close to the Sudanese border - for their own safety.

A spokesman for UNHCR said the plight of the refugees had worsened dramatically since aid agencies had pulled out.

“A number of refugees, mainly from minority ethnic groups who were particularly affected by the clashes in November, were found living in desperate conditions," he said. “They lacked basic supplies and had no shelter from the severe, hot and dry weather at this time of year.”

Staff who arrived at the camp immediately began distributing blankets and equipment to help the most needy.

The ethnic conflict, between the Anuak refugees and the Nuer and Dinka communities, left 42, mainly Dinka, refugees dead and scores wounded.

At the end of December, over 500 refugees were moved to Bonga camp, about 160 km northeast of Fugnido.

Fugnido is home to more than 28,700 refugees and is the largest of five refugee settlements in Ethiopia's Gambella Region, where a total of 85,000 Sudanese are sheltered.

Themes: (IRIN) Refugees/IDPs

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