Refugees Daily - Internal Global Press Review

More than 50 people were killed after Ethiopian police fired bullets and tear gas to disperse anti-government protesters at a religious festival in the country's Oromia region.

The incident occurred during the latest demonstration in an 11-month campaign by people in Oromia and Amhara against perceived government repression and the dominance of the minority Tigray ethnic group in one of Africa's fastest-growing economies.

The Oromia regional government said 52 people had been killed in the chaos on Sunday after thousands gathered at the Irreecha festival in Bishoftu, a town close to the capital Addis Ababa.

It blamed "evil acts masterminded by forces who are irresponsible" for the deaths and absolved the security forces of blame. But the Oromo Federalist Congress, an opposition group, said the toll was probably much higher: some activists pull it at several hundred.

People were reportedly killed both by the police and in a stampede after tear gas was dropped from a helicopter, according to Jawar Mohammed, who runs the US-Based Oromo Media Network.

Some reports said the protest had been peaceful while others said bottles and stones were thrown at the security forces.

Ethiopia is among Africa's most tightly-controlled countries. The government won every seat in parliament in the 2015 general election and keeps a firm grip on the economy, which has boomed thanks to well managed state-led industrialisation and urbanisation policies despite foreign investors being in effect banned in key sectors such as banking and telecoms.

However this leaves few outlets for dissent. The Oromo people, who live in a vast swath of central and southern Ethiopia, started protesting last November over government plans to expand Addis Ababa into their homeland.

The initiative was eventually shelved but the campaign evolved into a broader anti-government movement that spread to other areas, notably Amhara. The Amhar people make up about a quarter of Ethiopia's 100m population.

Hundreds of people have been killed in the authorities' response to the campaign, many of them children, according to rights groups.

The movement gained international attention when Feyisa Lilesa, an Oromo, made the movement's protest gesture by crossing his wrists above his head as he approached the finishing line to win the silver medal in the Rio Olympics marathon. He has since refused to return to Ethiopia.

Sunday's government statement said those responsible for the deaths "will face justice", without giving further details. Anti-government protesters say there has been widespread immunity so far for members of the security forces believed to have participated in the crackdown.

One western diplomat in Addis Ababa said Sunday's protest should send a clear signal to the government that "they need carrots as well as sticks" to deal with the demonstrators. "After 11 months it's clear that the Oromo and others are not going to give up and go away. A different approach is need to address their grievances."

Western governments view Ethiopia as a key partner both in combating terror groups, like al-Shabaab in neighbouring Somalia, and containing migration from east Africa towards Europe. Last month the EU, World Bank and UK announced a $500m programme to build two industrialisation zones in Ethiopia with 30 per cent of the 100,000 expected jobs reserved for refugees.
 

NAIROBI, Sept 30 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The United Nations has appointed its first special envoy for Somali refugees to ensure they receive protection, following accusations by a rights group that Kenya has been forcing them out of the world's largest refugee camp in a bid to close it.

Kenya, which says the returns are voluntary, called last week at the U.N. General Assembly for more funding to repatriate more than 300,000 Somali refugees living in Dadaab camp on its northern border.

"The Special Envoy will first help to maximise efforts to search (for) solutions for Somali refugees and asylum seekers at national and regional level and strive to enhance dialogue... to help maintain asylum," the U.N. said in a statement on Friday.

Former Kenyan ambassador to Somalia, Mohamed Abdi Affey, was appointed in response to "recent security and political gains in parts of Somalia, along with growing pressures on host countries and related asylum fatigue," it said.

One million Somali refugees are living in exile in neighbouring Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Djibouti and Yemen and some 1.1 million Somalis are displaced within Somalia, it said.

Kenya hosts the largest Somali refugee population followed by Ethiopia, U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) spokesman Duke Mwancha told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Affey, who also served as special envoy to Somalia for the east African bloc Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), has been appointed for an initial period of six months.

He will work to boost funding for humanitarian and development projects supporting the reintegration of Somali returnees, the U.N. said.

Returns from Kenya to Somalia have increased since Kenya announced in May that it would close Dadaab, saying the camp had been infiltrated by "terrorist cells".

Some 31,000 Somali refugees have voluntarily returned home from Kenya since December 2014, Mwancha said.

Human Rights Watch said this month Kenya is harassing Somali refugees to return when it is not safe to do so.

Hunger is worsening in Somalia due to poor rains, with five million people now short of food, the U.N. said.

Kenya says Somali Islamist group al Shabaab has used Dadaab as a recruiting ground. The east African nation has been hit by a string of attacks by al Shabaab, including on a shopping mall in Nairobi and a university in the northeast.

Dadaab hosts three generations of Somali refugees, some of whom have been living in the dusty, sprawling camp since 1991.

(Reporting by Katy Migiro; Editing by Ros Russell; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org to see more stories.)
 

Text of report by privately-owned Somali news website Goobjoog on 1 October

The United Nations has appointed Mohamed Abdi Affey as its special envoy for Somali refugees in the Dadaab refugee complex in Kenya.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said the new envoy will provide advice on how best to address protection concerns for the refugees and their peaceful return to Somalia.

Affey is currently a special envoy to Somalia for the regional IGAD [Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) bloc.

Both the UNHCR and the Kenyan government have been accused of pressuring Somali refugees in Dadaab to return back to their country.

Source: Goobjoog website, Mogadishu, in Somali on 1 Oct 16
 

Nairobi, Sep 30 (EFE).- The United Nations on Friday named its first special envoy for Somali refugees in Kenya.

Mohamed Abdi Affey's new role will entail facing the challenge of the controversial repatriation program that Kenya offers so it can close the Dadaab refugee camp.

"The Special Envoy will first help to maximize efforts to search solutions for Somali refugees and asylum-seekers at the national and regional level," said a statement by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) High Commissioner Filippo Grandi.

He is also tasked with striving "to enhance dialogue between Governments of asylum countries, Somalia and the international community to help maintain asylum for Somali refugees," the statement added.

After Kenya announced it was closing Dadaab, the UNHCR agreed with Kenyan authorities to create a voluntary repatriation program to reduce the number of camp inhabitants by half before the end of the year.

However, Human Rights Watch recently denounced the program, saying it did not meet with international laws for the voluntary return of refugees to Somalia, a country currently embroiled in an internal conflict with militant group al-Shabaab.

Somalian refugees told HRW they were intimidated by Kenyan refugees, were not informed of alternative ways they could remain in the country, were kept in the dark about the situation in Somalia and were told a $450 donation from the UN would be taken away if they did not leave.

Along with dialogue, "the Special Envoy will also provide advice on how best to address protection concerns and identify appropriate solutions," said the statement.

Affey, who previously worked as a Special Envoy in Somalia for the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, is to hold the position for six months.

According to UN data, there are currently one million Somali refugees in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Yemen, while another 1.1 million are internally displaced.
 

New York, US (PANA) – The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and delegations from African countries as well as the African Union (AU) agreed on Friday on final steps to end the protracted Rwandan refugee situation after seven years of negotiations.

PANA in New York reports that a ministerial meeting, hosted by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva, marked the last phase of a comprehensive solutions strategy for Rwandan refugees who fled their country between 1959 and 1998 to escape inter-ethnic violence and armed conflict.

A UN statement on the meeting quoted Mr. Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, as saying: "In a world where there are more than 21 million refugees, the focus should not just be on providing protection and humanitarian assistance, but on proactively identifying solutions."

"The meeting constitutes a crucial step in providing solutions to the many Rwandans who sought refuge between 1959 and 1998, and in bringing one of Africa's most protracted refugee situations to a close," he noted.

The statement said participants, who hailed from Rwanda as well as the major refugee host countries, namely Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Kenya, Malawi, the Republic of Congo, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe reaffirmed their commitment to bring the strategy, launched in October 2009, to its conclusion by the end of next year.

Highlighting the progress made since the last ministerial meeting on the Rwanda refugee situation, the governments reiterated their willingness to provide an alternative legal status to those refugees choosing to locally integrate and encouraged them to avail themselves of the opportunity.

All States confirmed that they will continue to promote the option of voluntary repatriation to Rwanda in safety and dignity, including by providing the refugees with comprehensive information on the conditions of return.

At the same time, UNHCR agreed to provide an enhanced return package, and to progressively transition from in-kind support to a more cash-based form of assistance to ensure their sustainable reintegration.

The countries that have invoked the cessation clause reassured that any refugee whose refugee status is maintained after an exemption process will continue to receive international protection and be supported.

The UNHCR said the genocide in 1994, followed by armed clashes in the north-west of the country in 1997 and 1998, caused more than 3.5 million Rwandans to flee in search of safety. All but 268,500 of the refugees have found a solution.

At the meeting, UNHCR's Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Volker Turk, said the agency stands ready to continue working with the States hosting Rwandan refugees to find solutions in accordance with the strategy and within the set timeline of December 2017.
 

The United Nations warned Friday that around 100,000 people were trapped in the South Sudanese town of Yei, where they were facing serious shortages of food and medicine.

Yei is situated some 150 kilometres (93 miles) southwest of Juba, near the borders with Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and until recently had been spared much of the violence plaguing the world's youngest nation.

But the security situation there has deteriorated rapidly since July.

The UN refugee agency said now around 100,000 people – many of whom had fled into the town in search of safety – could no longer leave after government troops surrounded the area.

"The government forces are surrounding the town and they are restricting access into the town and also preventing people from leaving, presumably because they suspect them of siding with opposition forces," UNHCR spokesman William Spindler told reporters.

He pointed out that more than 30,000 people had fled into Yei from surrounding areas following deadly attacks on civilians and looting of private property earlier this month.

They joined several thousand displaced people who had arrived since mid-July, and as many as 60,000 town residents, he said.

UNHCR and other UN agencies had visited the town on September 27, discovering that tens of thousands of displaced people had taken refuge in abandoned houses and church compounds, Spindler said.

"Terrorised men and women spoke of horrific violence against civilians before and during their flight," the refugee agency said, pointing to killings, mutilations and the looting and burning of property.

In Yei, the displaced "are facing a serious shortage of food and medicine," Spindler said.

He said humanitarian workers were hoping to soon bring desperately needed aid into the town, but acknowledged that the timeframe for such a delivery remained unclear.

South Sudan, which gained independence in July 2011, descended into war just two and a half years later when President Salva Kiir in December 2013 accused his former deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup.

Numerous attempts to shore up a fragile truce have failed, and in a major setback to peace efforts, fresh clashes erupted in Juba on July 8 this year between Kiir's guards and troops loyal to Machar.

Since the fresh violence in July, more than 200,000 people have fled South Sudan, sending the number of refugees from the war-scarred nation past the one-million mark, UNHCR said.

Another 1.61 million people are displaced inside the country, it said.
 

WASHINGTON, September 30 (Sputnik) – More than 100,000 people in the South Sudanese town of Yei urgently need humanitarian aid amid renewed fighting in the country, UN Refugee Agency spokesperson William Spindler said at a press conference on Friday.

"This is the first time that the population in Yei – primarily farmers living on commercial and subsistence agriculture – has become a direct target of violence, and on suspicion of their belonging to opposition groups," Spindler said. "They urgently need humanitarian assistance."

The security situation for Yei's 60,000 residents deteriorated after violence broke out in the capital city of Juba in July, Spindler explained.

Earlier in September, more than 30,000 people left Yei to escape attacks against civilians in surrounding areas.

Spindler said the price of basic commodities, including food and medicine, has skyrocketed, and residents have reported their own supplies were looted.

Additionally, Spindler said there were reports of many young men being detained, sexual violence and indiscriminate killing.

An armed ethnic conflict erupted in South Sudan in December 2013, only 18 months after the nation gained independence from Sudan.

According to the United Nations, more than two million people have fled the country and another 1.61 million are internally displaced.
 

Geneva, Switzerland (PANA) – Urgent humanitarian assistance is needed for some 100,000 people trapped in the South Sudanese town of Yei, where the security situation deteriorated rapidly after renewed conflict broke out in Juba, the capital, in early July, the United Nations refugee agency warned Friday.

Until now, Yei has been largely spared from the violence and attacks that have plagued the country since December 2013," William Spindler, a spokesperson of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told reporters in Geneva.

This is the first time that the population in Yei – primarily farmers living on commercial and subsistence agriculture – has become a direct target of violence, and on suspicion of their belonging to opposition groups. They urgently need humanitarian assistance," he added.

Yei is situated in Central Equatoria state, close to South Sudan's borders with Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and about 150 km southwest of Juba.

According to the town church, more than 30,000 people have been displaced into Yei from surrounding areas, following deadly attacks on civilians and looting of private property on 11 and 13 September. They joined several thousand others displaced from nearby Lainya County since mid-July, and up to 60,000 town residents who remain in Yei with no means to leave and who are now in as much need as those displaced by the conflict.

UNHCR's presence there has been limited to providing protection activities and assistance to refugees from neighbouring DRC who live in Yei town and nearby Lasu settlement.

The security situation in Yei deteriorated rapidly after renewed conflict broke out in Juba in early July and came to a head earlier this month, forcing thousands of civilians to flee their homes," Mr. Spindler said.

An inter-agency mission to Yei, led by UNHCR on Tuesday, observed that tens of thousands of displaced are sheltering in abandoned houses and smaller numbers in church compounds and are facing a serious shortage of food and medicine.

Terrorized men and women spoke of horrific violence against civilians before and during their flight, including assault, targeted killing, mutilation, looting and burning of property, the spokesperson said.

Several civilians have been hacked to death, including women and infants. There are reports that many young men, aged between 17 and 30, have been arrested on suspicion of siding with the opposition. Displaced people need food, household items, medicines and the children need access to schools, he said.

Mr. Spindler also reported that food prices are skyrocketing, with basic commodities quickly disappearing from the market. Many internally displaced people have reported that their food stocks have been looted. Two local hospitals are functioning at reduced capacity.

Lack of high-energy food for malnourished children and breastfeeding mothers is becoming critical. There are indications of increasing sexual and gender-based violence, and unaccompanied and separated children.

The population is unable to leave the town due to limited freedom of movement and lack of resources. With farmers unable to reach their fields, harvests are rotting and the risk of missing the upcoming planting season is very high. This means that people may have no crops next year.

Back in Juba, humanitarian partners were mobilizing to respond to the situation in Yei, including provision of food, non-food items and drugs. A date for access is still not certain.

To improve the security situation, the UN is planning to increase its force in the country. The government has already agreed to the deployment of a 4,000-strong regional protection force mandated by the UN Security Council, in addition to the roughly 12,000 UN peacekeepers already serving in the nation.

The UN Mission, known as UNMISS, was set up in 2011 after South Sudan gained independence from Sudan. It played a major role in trying to protect civilians when war broke out in 2013 between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and those of then Vice President Riek Machar.

Deteriorating security in South Sudan has forced more than 200,000 people to flee the country since a fresh fighting broke out around Juba, the capital, on 8 July 2016, bringing the number of South Sudanese refugees in neighbouring countries to over 1 million.

In South Sudan, more than 1.61 million people are internally displaced and another 261,000 are refugees from Sudan, DRC, Ethiopia, and Central African Republic.
 

Vienna (dpa) The South Sudanese town of Yei is facing a humanitarian crisis, as tens of thousands of trapped civilians are threatened with serious shortages of food and medicine, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) warned Friday.

Some 40,000 have recently fled to Yei from surrounding areas to escape the renewed conflict that has flared up since early July in the country, while 60,000 residents have no means to leave.

"They urgently need humanitarian assistance," UNHCR spokesman William Spindler said at a press conference in Geneva.

In addition, Spindler said that sexual crimes seem to be on the rise and that children have become separated from their families amid the strife surrounding Yei, which lies southwest
of the capital Juba.

Some 2.6 million people have been displaced by the violent power struggle between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar that erupted in late 2013, according to UN estimates.

The two sides of the conflict formed a unity government in April, but fighting erupted again in July, prompting Machar to flee to Sudan.

People who have fled to Yei told UN officials this week that men, women and children had been brutally killed and mutilated for allegedly supporting the opposition.
 

JUBA, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) – The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on Friday decried increased violence in South Sudan's Yei, a town situated in Central Equatoria state, about 150km southwest of the capital Juba.

"The security situation in Yei deteriorated rapidly after renewed conflict broke out in Juba in early July and came to a head earlier this month (Sept. 11-13), forcing thousands of civilians to flee their homes," the UNHCR said in a statement.

Troops led by President Salva Kiir and those loyal to former First Vice President Riek Machar clashed in early July in Juba, triggering new waves of violence in the country.

According to the UNHCR, this is the first time that people in Yei, mainly farmers, have become a direct target of violence.

The UNHCR says Yei residents spoke of horrific violence against civilians, including assaults, targeted killings, looting and burning of property. Several civilians have been hacked to death.

The UNHCR says those displaced, and up to 60,000 local residents who remain in Yei, are in need of humanitarian assistance.

"Displaced people need food, household items, medicines, and the children need access to schools. Food prices are skyrocketing, with basic commodities quickly disappearing from the market," the statement said.

Deteriorating security in South Sudan has forced more than 200,000 people to flee the country since July 8, bringing the number of South Sudanese refugees in neighboring countries to over one million. And more than 1.61 million people are internally displaced.
 

October 1, 2016 (JUBA) – United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has warned of grave humanitarian situation in the newly established Yei River state of South Sudan due to the renewed fierce fighting between rival forces and continued attacks by government forces on civilians in the area. Non-food items distributing to IDPS by the UNHCR workers in Maridi on 4 March 2016 (ST Photo)

UNHCR in its report released on Friday said it is increasingly concerned for the safety and well-being of over 100,000 people trapped in Yei – a town situated in the mother Central Equatoria state, and is located about 150 kilometres south-west of the national capital, Juba.

According to the report, more than 30,000 people have been displaced into Yei from surrounding areas, following deadly attacks on civilians and looting of private property on 11 and 13 September. They joined several thousand others displaced from nearby Lainya County since mid-July, and up to 60,000 town residents who remain in Yei with no means to leave and who are now in as much need as those displaced by the conflict.

It said the populations in Yei have been targeted by the government forces under the leadership of President Salva Kiir with the suspicion that they are loyal to the deposed First Vice President, Riek Machar, who leads an armed opposition faction.

The security situation in Yei deteriorated rapidly after renewed conflict broke out in Juba in early July and came to a head earlier this month, forcing thousands of civilians to flee their homes. This is the first time that the population in Yei – primarily farmers living on commercial and subsistence agriculture – has become a direct target of violence, and on suspicion of their belonging to opposition groups," partly reads the report.

They urgently need humanitarian assistance," it added.

An inter-agency mission to Yei, led by UNHCR on Tuesday, 27 September, observed that tens of thousands of displaced people are sheltering in abandoned houses and smaller numbers in church compounds and are facing a serious shortage of food and medicine.

Terrorized men and women spoke of horrific violence against civilians before and during their flight, including assault, targeted killing, mutilation, looting and burning of property. Several civilians have been hacked to death, including women and infants. There are reports that many young men, aged between 17 and 30, have been arrested on suspicion of siding with the opposition," UNHCR report further reveals.

The displaced people, it said, need food, household items, medicines and the children need access to schools. Food prices are skyrocketing, with basic commodities quickly disappearing from the market.

Many internally displaced people have reported that their food stocks have been looted. Two local hospitals are functioning at reduced capacity. Lack of high-energy food for malnourished children and breastfeeding mothers is becoming critical. As information continues to be gathered, there are indications of increasing sexual and gender-based violence, and unaccompanied and separated children."

The population, the report added, is unable to leave the town due to limited freedom of movement and lack of resources.

With farmers unable to reach their fields, harvests are rotting and the risk of missing the upcoming planting season is very high. This means that people may have no crops next year," it observed.

However, in Juba, humanitarian partners are mobilizing to respond to the situation in Yei, including provision of food, non-food items and drugs, the report further informed.

The deteriorating security situation in South Sudan has forced more than 200,000 people to flee the country since 8 July 2016, bringing the number of South Sudanese refugees in neighbouring countries to over 1 million.

In South Sudan, more than 1.61 million people are internally displaced and another 261,000 are refugees from Sudan, DRC, Ethiopia, and Central African Republic.
 

The United Nations refugee agency reports that 100,000 people are effectively trapped by violence in the South Sudanese town of Yei. With no one allowed in or out, it warns, the town could soon face a food shortage.

Until recently, Yei – located in Central Equatoria state – has been largely spared from the violence and attacks that have gripped South Sudan since December 2013.

But, the UNHCR says, conditions for the inhabitants of Yei and surrounding areas have deteriorated since renewed conflict between government and rebel forces broke out in July.

UNHCR spokesman William Spindler says the situation came to a head earlier this month when more than 30,000 people in surrounding areas flocked to Yei, following deadly attacks and looting of property.

He tells VOA that government forces are surrounding the town.

"They are restricting access into the town and also preventing people from leaving – presumably because they suspect them of siding with opposition forces," Spindler said. "Now people are not allowed to leave to go and tend to the fields and the crops. And this potentially could be disastrous."

If farmers are unable to reach their fields, Spindler says, harvests will rot, the upcoming planting season is likely to be missed and there will be no crops next year.

He says the displaced already are feeling the sting of having had to abandon their homes, with food prices soaring as commodities disappear from the market.

"Many internally displaced people have reported that their food stocks have been looted," Spindler said. "Two local hospitals are functioning at reduced capacity. Lack of high-energy food for malnourished children and breastfeeding mothers is becoming critical."

Aid agencies in Juba are responding by gathering food, non-food items, drugs and other essential supplies, he says. However, the operation is stalled as agencies wait to be granted access to Yei.

The situation adds to the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan, where some 2.5 million people have been displaced from their homes since the conflict began.