The United Nations is warning that a “full-scale humanitarian crisis” is underway in Ethiopia as fighting continues in the nation’s Tigray region.
Refugees are fleeing to neighboring nations in the thousands. Estimates indicate that around 27,000 people have fled from Ethiopia to Sudan.
“People are coming out of Ethiopia really scared, afraid, with stories saying they have been fleeing heavy fighting and there’s no sign of the fighting stopping,” said Babar Baloch, spokesman of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees at a Geneva news briefing. “UNHCR is warning that a full-scale humanitarian crisis is unfolding as thousands of refugees flee ongoing fighting in Ethiopia’s Tigray region each day to seek safety in eastern Sudan.”
On Nov. 4, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched a military ground and air offensive against Tigrayan forces, claiming they had attacked federal troops. On Sunday, those forces confirmed they had sent rocket fire into neighboring Eritrea.
In a text to Reuters, Tigrayan leader Debretsion Gebremichael told the outlet that Abiy was using Eritrea to attack Tigray.
The Tigray People’s Liberation Front was the dominant party of the ruling coalition, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, for many years. That coalition appointed Abiy as prime minister in 2018. Shortly thereafter, Abiy disbanded the coalition and created the Prosperity Party. The TPLF strongly opposed its formation and did not join.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article stated that the TPLF was the ruling party of Ethiopia until Abiy became prime minister in 2018. The TPLF was instead a political party within the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front. The Washington Examiner regrets the error.
