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The Ethiopian crisis threatens with another wave of refugees

2021. 02. 11.

“The armed conflict in Ethiopia must be ended immediately, otherwise the crisis will widen and this could trigger another wave of refugees towards the Union”, emphasized MEP György Hölvényi, EPP Group coordinator in the Development Committee at Thursday’s plenary debate on humanitarian situation in Ethiopia.

Christian Democrat MEP said, the possibility of humanitarian access has hardly changed in recent months in the Tigray federal state of northern Ethiopia, and as telecommunications connections are also very limited in the region, thus, only personal reports can be relied upon. The MEP, who was on a fact-finding mission in the area in autumn 2019, summed up the situation: “Currently, the population does not have access to electricity and fuel. Food shortage is also a serious problem. According to UN data, so far two million people have become internally displaced in the federal state”.

“The crisis in northern Ethiopia is not just a local problem. The conflict threatens the stability of the whole region. So far, more than 60,000 refugees have arrived in Sudan, where their care puts the country’s already fragile system to the test”, the Christian Democrat MEP underlined.

“It is essential that the Ethiopian federal government should allow aid organizations to assess the real situation and needs in the Tigray region. This is indispensable for targeted humanitarian action. The armed conflict must be ended immediately, otherwise the crisis will worsen and this could trigger another wave of refugees towards the Union”, stressed the EPP MEP.