Agency Rebuffs Reports of Alleged Attack on Eritrean Refugee Camp

ADDIS ABABA – A government refugee agency has rebuffed media reports of an alleged attack on Eritrean refugee camp near Dabat town of Amhara region.

In an interview he gave to Ethiopian News Agency, the Director General of Agency for Refugees and Returnees Affairs (ARRA) Tesfahun Gobzay dismissed the reports as “inaccurate and far from the truth.”

The agency has also filed a complaint to the organization that gave the wrong information to BBC Amharic, which was later exaggerated by the Deutsche Welle ( DW) that reported the death of one person.

The incident occurred following a dispute between two groups of refugees, he told the Ethiopian News Agency.

Nobody has died although five were injured. Three of them have already returned to the camp after treatment, he said.

Distorting the facts to mislead the international community is unacceptable, said Tesfahun, adding that investigation has been launched to know details about the incident.

According to ARRA, the Eritreans were relocated to Dabat from four refugee camps last year after they became the target of repeated attacks by the TPLF.

Tesfahun said the government worked hard to ensure their safety by moving them to the temporary shelters built in Maitsebri and Dabat.

The refugees near Dabat town have subsequently been hosted with love by the community, he told ENA.

More than 900,000 refugees from South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan, and other countries are currently living in 25 camps located across Ethiopia.

 

Featured Image Caption: Eritrean refugees in Dabat Refugee Camp [Photo File/ARRA]