Ethiopia: HRW Reports Violence, Forced Labor Against Sudanese Refugees in Ethiopia – Govt Dismisses Claims

Addis Abeba — A new Human Rights Watch (HRW) report alleges that Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia’s Amhara region have experienced multiple incidents of violence, abductions, and forced labor amid the ongoing conflict between government forces and Fano militias.

The report, released on 17 October, 2024, covers research conducted between May and September 2024. It documents numerous security incidents affecting refugees who fled Sudan’s conflict since April 2023.

“Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia have been targets of abuses for more than a year from various armed actors,” said Laetitia Bader, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “These refugees have fled horrific abuses back home and urgently need protection, not further threats to their lives.”

The report highlights that refugees at the Awlala and Kumer camps in the West Gondar Zone have faced repeated attacks, including killings and forced labor. In May 2024, over 1,000 refugees protested against the ongoing abuses but were blocked by Ethiopian police.

A significant incident occurred on 17 July, 2024, when armed individuals attacked the Kumer camp, killing ten Ethiopian federal police officers. The Ethiopian Refugee and Returnee Service (RRS) confirmed that 11 additional officers were wounded during the attack.

Refugee communities documented 347 cases of forced labor during 2023 and 2024. “When [the militias] find us, they ask for a phone or money,” explained a 43-year-old Sudanese man. “If they find nothing, they take you away and force you to work on farms.”

In late July 2024, the UNHCR and Ethiopian authorities relocated thousands of refugees to a new camp, Aftit. However, many refugees expressed fears of further violence. “We wanted to be safe when we left Sudan, but the beatings and robbery [in Ethiopia] were too much to bear,” one refugee recounted.

The HRW report states that the situation worsened in August and September 2024, as clashes between Fano militias and federal forces escalated near refugee sites.

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On 21 August, 2024, Ethiopian soldiers and local militias reportedly forced refugees to relocate to the Metemma transit center. When refugees resisted, security forces destroyed their makeshift shelters and used violence, according to the HRW report.

The organization also reports that many refugees felt compelled to return to Sudan, often becoming separated from their families in the process. Although Ethiopian officials claimed these returns were voluntary, HRW’s investigation found instances where refugees felt coerced.

In response to the report, the Ethiopian government’s Refugee and Returnee Service (RRS) dismissed the claims of abuses, killings, and looting by local militias and informal gangs as “unfounded and erroneous.”

The RRS stressed that the government has a “zero-tolerance” policy for abuse against refugees, stating, “There have been no instances of forced transfer, either by the government or any entity.”

Despite these assurances, Human Rights Watch urges the Ethiopian government to fulfill its obligations to protect refugees and relocate them to safer areas. Bader emphasized, “The Ethiopian government should uphold its obligations to protect refugees in its territory and relocate them, where possible, away from conflict zones.”

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