Following a spate of killings and thefts, at least 1,000 Sudanese refugees have fled a United Nations-run camp in northern Ethiopia, according to three refugees and the UN.
According to the refugees, over 7,000 of the 8,000 people of the Kumer camp fled on foot after being attacked and plundered by local gunmen.
They claimed to have been detained by authorities shortly after leaving the camp, which is located 70 kilometers (43 miles) from the Sudanese border in Ethiopia’s Amhara region.
The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said it was aware that 1,000 people had left Kumer because they felt unsafe after a series of security incidents.
Since April 2023, when the army and a rival paramilitary outfit went to battle, almost 1.6 million Sudanese people have fled their country.
The UNHCR reports that approximately 33,000 people have crossed into Ethiopia.
Sudanese refugees in Kumer told UNHCR in a recent letter that they have been subjected to widespread insecurity for months, including kidnappings for ransom, deaths, and armed robberies.
Amhara militiamen have been battling federal forces for nearly a year across the region in a conflict that left more than 200 people dead last year, according to the United Nations.
UNHCR described the situation in the camp as “very difficult.”
