Journal 8: The Sub-Saharan African Realm

Journal 8: The Sub-Saharan African Realm

The focus this week is on an article “Tigray crisis: Ethiopian soldiers accused of blocking border with Sudan” published on BBC News Africa by Anne Soy Senior Africa correspondent on 28 November 2020. Over the past few weeks, there have been political instability in Ethiopia, which has let to conflicts between the ruling government and opposition. As a result, war has led to displacement of people from their homes to run for safety, however, soldiers are being deployed to preventing Ethiopians to cross to Sudan. The number of refugees fleeing the northern Tigray region of Ethiopia where federal and regional forces are engaged in fighting has reduced drastically after soldiers were deployed to the border with Sudan.

The number of refugees keep on increasing as conflict war keep on rising. According to UNHCR, In just three weeks, more than 43,000 refugees have fled into Sudan. Aid agencies have been struggling to keep up with the rising numbers as need of help also is high. The UNHCR humanitarian response is overstretched and more support is need urgently. The average number arriving daily has been 3,000, officials told the BBC. However, since Ethiopian troops were deployed along the border, the number has dropped to about 700 a day. The government has restricted its people from running for safety to Sudan.

In conclusion, the government should not restrict its citizens from running for their lives when it has not managed to protect them and to assure their security. However, refugees in Sudan are looking forward to going back to their homes where they will live their normal lives as they are facing a lot of challenges to meet their basic needs. The government need to do more to solve conflicts and restore peace and order in Ethiopia.

Reference

Soy, A. (2020, November 28). Tigray crisis: Ethiopian soldiers accused of blocking border with Sudan. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-55106353