Refugees Arrested in Sudan

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The inside of a tent at an Ethiopian blood drive put on to support the country’s military (photo credit AP News).

On Nov. 12, Filimon, an eye witness of the events in Ethiopia that sent hundreds of thousands of people out of the country, ran to the Northern Sudan border to escape the fighting. Filimon took a day-long journey, on foot, with 30 others who were fleeing the conflict. Since then he has spent two days in Sudan, at the mercy of the sun and wind. The border town holding the immigrants became quickly overwhelmed. Tensions have been building, and 242 people have been arrested because they were allegedly recruited “to cause terror in the capital,” according to the police in Addis Ababa.

These arrests have caused concern to grow amongst the refugees, who are now afraid to go the police or the government for fear of being accused of terrorism. Their attempt to find safety in a nearby country has worsened their situation. The conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region is only escalating with the Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, stating that negotiations cannot occur until the Tigray Liberation Front is arrested and its arsenal destroyed.