Almost a million UN registered refugees in Ethiopia

[Old_Observer]

Number of refugees in Ethiopia hits record high

Published on 16.03.2018 à 16h21 by APA News

 

The number of refugees and asylum seekers in Ethiopia has hit a record over 900,000, as of the end of last month.“Ethiopia is host to the second largest refugee population in Africa, sheltering mre than 909,301 registered refugees and asylum seekers, as of 28 February 2018,” the UNHCR announced on Friday in a statement.

In the first two months of 2018, 15,097 refugees arrived in Ethiopia, including 7,202 in February. They include more than 10,700 from South Sudan, and more than 3,700 from Eritrea.

Children below the age of 18 represent 56 percent of the total refugees.

Registered refugees from South Sudan are 435,437, Somalia 254, 289, Eritrea 166,769, Sudanese 44,997, Yemen 1,786 and other nationalities 6,023.

The UN refugee agency has also announced it is facing a funding gap of $289 million for its operation in Ethiopia for the year 2018.

So far, it has secured $38 million funding out of the requested $335.8 million for its operations in the Horn of Africa nation.

Even though the country shelters more than 900,000 refugees, Ethiopian official sources have said it will maintain its open door policy towards refugees, and continue to receive new arrivals from f its neighbours, notably from South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan and Yemen.

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