Relief items kits are distributed to newly arrived Sudanese refugees at the Madjigilta site in Chad’s Ouaddaï region, on the border with Sudan. The kits include a plastic bucket, soap and a jerry can. Some 30,000 people are so far estimated to have arrived in Chad, fleeing the violence and insecurity in Sudan. ; Most of those arriving are women and children, who are currently sheltering out in the open. UNHCR is working closely with the Government of Chad and its partners to assess their needs and prepare a joint response.
Alongside governments and partners, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has determined an initial planning figure of more than 800,000 refugees and returnees that may flee Sudan to neighbouring countries.Hafsa stands in front of her shelter with her three daughters Mustaaq Cabdiwali Farax, 8, Rayaan Cabdisamed Jamal, 4, and Laki Cabdifatax Cali, 1.
Hafsa Guuled Osman, 23, fled violence in Laascaanood with her three children and her third husband that would soon leave her.
In Ethiopia, she rejoined with her mother and brothers, with whom she is now living in Mirqaan settlement. ; Since February, clashes in Somalia’s Lascaanood city displaced thousands of people, some 100,000 of whom sought safety in the Somali region of Ethiopia. While some are being hosted by welcoming Ethiopian families in their homes, many remain in overcrowded shelters or are sleeping outdoors and require urgent assistance and solutions to rebuild their lives.
Refugees have been staying at Goob, Hegaalle and Docmo, where RRS and UNHCR have been preregistering families most of them comprised of women and children who fled with very little. 91,000 people were preregistered, and many more continue arriving in Ethiopia, fleeing ongoing violence in their home country. In collaboration with the World Food Programme, food is being distributed to every refugee family.
With increasing needs, in an area already severely affected by drought, refugees and their host communities require additional, life-saving assistance. The Mirqaan settlement is expected to facilitate the provision of assistance and to strengthen and complement the existing local services, including water, sanitation, health and education. The site is being developed with support from volunteers from the local community as refugees are setting up their homes. Plans are underway to continue providing support to communities hosting refugees.
Ethiopia has been a welcoming country to refugees for decades, currently hosting nearly 990,000 refugees from neighbouring countries like South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan. To meet the needs of this recent influx, the Government of Ethiopia has generously allocated 400 hectares of landBurkina Faso / Barbara Hendricks/ UNHCR Good Will Ambassador Barbara Hendricks greets Aminatou, a Malian refugee woman in her hut in Damba camp, northern Burkina Faso. ”I left Gossi, in northern Mali, with my children because we did not want to be exposed to the violence of armed groups” explained 50-year-old Aminatou to Barbara Hendricks. ”We feared for our lives. In 1990 and in 2000, there were already conflicts and we stayed. This time, we did not want to wait and we fled to Burkina Faso”. 65,000 Malian refugees have arrived in Burkina Faso since January, when fighting between a Tuareg movement (the Mouvement de Liberation de l ’Azawad – MNLA) and the Malian Army broke out. Other armed groups, including Islamist ones such as Ansar Dine and the MUJAO, later contributed to further destabilize Mali and are in control of several cities in the North. UNHCR / H. Caux / July 6, 2012
