UN appeals funding to help people fleeing Sudan to Ethiopia

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Xinhua | The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) appealed for additional funding to address the needs of people crossing into Ethiopia due to the ongoing security situation in Sudan.

The UNOCHA, in its latest situation update issued Friday, said some 85,0000 people are projected to enter Ethiopia from Sudan, with humanitarian needs forecasted to rise steeply in such a scenario.

“Additional financial resources are required to meet the current needs and the ongoing flow of arrivals expected in the weeks ahead,” it said.

Figures from the UNOCHA show that between April 21 and May 16, more than 22,600 arrivals have been recorded from more than 64 nationalities at Metema crossing point in Ethiopia’s northwest Amhara region. Metema crossing point is now receiving the largest share of people fleeing conflict in Sudan.

According to the UNOCHA, arrivals have been observed to have largely come from the city of Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, representing 76 percent of the total arrivals. Some 18 percent of them are said to be from the city of Omdurman.

On Wednesday, the International Organization for Migration had launched a response plan appealing for 209 million U.S. dollars to provide humanitarian assistance to the people affected by the crisis and outbreak of violence in Sudan.

The UN migration agency said the deteriorating situation in Sudan is also having dramatic implications on neighboring countries, many of which are grappling with their own protracted crises.

Sudan has witnessed deadly armed clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in the capital city of Khartoum and other areas since April 15, with the two sides accusing each other of initiating the conflict.