Surpassing
countries with a longstanding civil strife such as Syria, Yemen and,
the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Ethiopia’s latest figures on
internally displaced people for the first half of 2018 has reached new
heights.
Recent ethnic clashes in the
southern regions of Gedeo and West Guji, along with internal border
disputes at the southeastern Somali border has forced 1.4 million people
to flee their homes since the start of 2018, making it the world’s
highest level of violence-related internal displacement so far this
year.
“It beggars belief that 1.4
million people fleeing violence isn’t making global headlines. The world
has turned a blind eye to Ethiopia,” warned Nigel Tricks, Regional
Director of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). “Families we have met
who have fled fighting are living in dire conditions, and dismal
international funding is being channeled to help them.”
According to NRC, the Ethiopian
government and aid agencies are working hard to respond to the
situation; but with around one million newly displaced people in Gedeo
and West Guji. Overcrowded communal shelters, food provisions, water and
health services are stretched beyond capacity.
The affected areas was one of the
most densely populated parts of Ethiopia, with the influx of people now
doubling the population in some areas; it said that “the current rainy
season is also worsening peoples’ living conditions and hindering the
humanitarian response.”
According to the aid agency, the
Ethiopian government is working to bring about peace and security. This
process and the support for early return of displaced people are
priorities for all. NRC said that while some families have started their
return home to Gedeo and West Guji; but many houses have been
destroyed.
“People tell us they are keen to
return home, but they fled with nothing and need to know they can access
support to rebuild their lives. It’s important that any returnees are
voluntary and sustainable. Families must also be confident of the safety
of the areas before moving back,” said Tricks.
Violence also continued to flare
in the Oromia-Somali border region, with 200,000 people fleeing their
homes in the first half of the year. It is to be recalled that 500,000
people have fled clashes in the last quarter of 2017. Nearly all areas
along the regional border have been affected. The region has been hard
hit by food shortages adding to the crisis.
According to the midyear figures
published Wednesday by Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC),
there have been an estimated 5.2 million new IDPs associated with
conflict or violence across the 10 most impacted countries.
East Africa has been the
hardest-hit region with Somalia and South Sudan also among the top 10
countries for conflict-related internal displacements.
The region also accounts for five
of the most significant natural disasters between January and June,
with flooding in Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Uganda, along with
drought in Somalia displacing more than 1 million people combined. In
total, 700 disaster events in more than 100 countries, has displaced an
estimated 3.3 million worldwide in the first half of 2018