Number of people entering Ethiopia from Sudan nears 60,000: UN

Addis Ababa, July 5 The number of people entering Ethiopia from the violence-hit Sudan is nearing 60,000, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its latest situation update.

"As of June 28, more than 57,500 people have crossed through the Metema and Kurmuk Ethiopia-Sudan border entry points," Xinhua news agency quoted the update as saying.

"Daily average of people arriving in Metema ranges between 500 and 1,000, the past several days have shown an increase in arrivals by Sudanese nationals surpassing Ethiopian returnees followed by other third-country nationals."

The OCHA report further said there are no signs of a slowdown in the movement of people into Ethiopia from conflict-hit Sudan, with more than 75 per cent of arrivals in the last two weeks being Sudanese nationals.

The UN agency report cited funding constraints as forcing it to stop hot meal assistance to arrivals from Sudan.

Brutal fighting erupted in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, on April 15 and swiftly escalated in different parts of the country.

The ongoing fighting is pitting the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary group.

Both sides have accused each other of initiating the conflict.

Deep differences had emerged between the SAF and the RSF, particularly regarding the latter's integration into the army as stipulated in a framework agreement signed between military and civilian leaders on December 5, 2022.

Since fighting broke out in Sudan, over 2.6 million people have fled their homes, with more than 5,60,000 of them becoming international refugees.

The conflict has so far killed nearly 1,000 people, while some 5,000 others have been injured, the Sudanese Doctors' Union said in its latest update.

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