Ethiopia shuts two Tigray camps housing Eritrean refugees

Confirmation of closure of Shimelba and Hitsats camps in embattled region comes after state-appointed human rights commission reports both sites were ‘destroyed’.

Slow social service restoration in #Ethiopia's Tigray increased H/R abuses.

– 108 rape cases reported in Mekelle, Adigrat, Ayder hospitals
– Severe food shortage
– Insecurity/lack of health service forcing long-distance travel@EthioHRC's brief report: https://t.co/FH13UQEIPU

— Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (@EthioHRC) February 11, 2021

Two refugee camps caught up in a brutal conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region have been closed and their Eritrean residents relocated, authorities have confirmed, as the country’s state-appointed human rights commission reported that both sites had been “destroyed”.

The United Nations’ refugee agency (UNHCR) has called for protection for the residents of the Shimelba and Hitsats camps, which it says were attacked by armed men who killed and abducted refugees. Last week, it said occupants – who often leave to escape mandatory, indefinite military service and repression or search for better opportunities out of one of the world’s most isolated states – had reported that Eritrean soldiers had forced some refugees back into Eritrea.

The alleged Eritrean military presence is one of the most contentious issues in the border region of Tigray, where Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government has claimed victory over rebellious regional authorities in a conflict that began in early November.

Eritrea and Ethiopia have both denied that Eritrean troops operated on Ethiopian territory. The removed Tigrayan regional authorities and many residents accuse neighbouring Eritrea of intervening on the behalf of the central government in Addis Ababa. Reports from all sides are difficult to verify because communications to the region of some six million people remain patchy and the government tightly controls access.

Tesfahun Gobezay, director general of Ethiopia’s Agency for Refugees and Returnees Affairs, confirmed on Thursday the camp closures, first reported by the state news agency on Wednesday.

Slow social service restoration in #Ethiopia's Tigray increased H/R abuses.

– 108 rape cases reported in Mekelle, Adigrat, Ayder hospitals
– Severe food shortage
– Insecurity/lack of health service forcing long-distance travel@EthioHRC's brief report: https://t.co/FH13UQEIPU

— Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (@EthioHRC) February 11, 2021

n Thursday, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said it has learned that Shimelba and Hitsats “had been destroyed and the refugees inside the camps dispersed”. Earlier this week, the Norwegian Refugee Council also said the destruction of its facilities at the camps was confirmed using satellite imagery.

“We condemn the criminal destruction of our buildings and facilities that we set up to serve refugees in great need,” Jan Egeland, NRC’s secretary-general, said in a statement. “This rampage of burning and looting by armed men deepens an already dire crisis for millions of people.”

We condemn the criminal destruction of our buildings and facilities that we set up to serve refugees in Tigray, Ethiopia.

This burning and looting rampage by armed men deepens an already dire crisis for millions of people. #NotATarget https://t.co/SIR2mSu7N8

— Jan Egeland (@NRC_Egeland) February 8, 2021

But Tesfahun told Reuters news agency the description of destruction was an “overstatement”.

“There was a lot of fighting in those areas, not in the camps but in those areas where the camps are located,” he said. “Refugees didn’t get the necessary services quickly and also they panicked due to the firing happening around the camps. So they left the camps, and Ethiopian defence forces sheltered them and escorted them to the nearest towns of Tigray,” he said.

He said 5,300 refugees had gone to two other refugee camps in Tigray. Others were now in Tigray towns or the capital, Addis Ababa.

Chris Melzer, a UNHCR spokesman, said the agency concurred with the conclusion that the camps were now unsafe, “considering the reports of attacks on Hitsats and Shimelba, the reports of abductions, destruction, looting, and killing of humanitarian staff”. Decisions to relocate must be voluntary and movements must be organised in safety and dignity, he said.

Some 96,000 Eritrean refugees were living in four camps in Tigray before the conflict erupted in November. The EHRC said on Thursday there are currently “between 26,000 and 28,000 Eritrean refugees sheltered in Mai Aini and Adi Harush refugee camps”..

AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES