Situation report: Eritrean refugees in Sudan

This report is a consolidation of the latest updates from our contacts on the ground and is not meant to be comprehensive. If you have any information you would like us to include in our next update, please contact info@onedayseyoum.org. 

This report was published on 5 July 2023.

SUMMARY OF ISSUES

Terrible conditions at the refugee camps

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is only providing support to Eritrean refugees who go to the camps but the conditions at the camps are terrible and unsafe.

• Shagarab camp: There are much diseases, sexual violence, kidnappings by smugglers and other actors, and forcible returns to Eritrea at this camp.

• Wad Sharife camp: This camp has been the described as the worst refugee camp, they have all the issues outlined in the Shagarab camp but this camp has even worse security conditions with many more kidnappings by smugglers and other actors, and also worse health and sanitary conditions with more diseases prevalent and spreading. Eritrean refugees in Kessela are forcibly taken here by armed officials.

• Um Gargour camp: This camp also has similar conditions to the ones mentioned above. In addition to this, they are staying in school buildings without windows or doors which has been difficult as the heavy rain has ruined most of their belongings. They have not received blankets and people, including kids, are sleeping cold. The water that is provided is not clean and although there is clean water they can buy, the prices are very expensive for the refugees there. They also only receive food twice a day. After the war broke out in Khartoum, many went to a church in Gedaref but officials from the immigration departments came there and took them to the camp. Now, anyone who comes from Khartoum to Gedaref in buses is taken when they get off the bus and taken to the camp.

Some of the most vulnerable at the camps are those who need medical support, pregnant women and women with infants and young children. At the camps they only get prescribed painkillers and get referrals to hospitals where they have to pay for services which they cannot afford to do.

Extortions by armed officials

Due to the terrible conditions at the refugee camps, most Eritreans who fled from Khartoum understandably do not want to go there. Many went to Gadarf where they hoped to find work to sustain themselves. Eritrean refugees have been arrested and detained by armed forces and have been told they will be sent back to Eritrea if they do not pay them. Eritrean refugees get terrified when hearing this and pay whatever they can afford or call their loved ones abroad if they have any and ask for help. The ones who cannot afford to pay in a few days are taken to refugee camps. The ones who pay do not get a receipt and can get detained again anytime after they are released.

Lack of support outside of refugee camps

The Eritrean refugees who are living outside the refugee camps are receiving no support. They are experiencing a lack of food, housing and medical support. The most vulnerable are the ones who need medical support, women with infants and babies, and pregnant women. Some tried to go to South Sudan and were denied entry, and are now scattered in areas close to the border with nothing. Some have made it to Egypt where they also are experiencing a lack of support. Eritrean residents in Egypt are overwhelmed by the amount of refugees arriving and are doing their best to help. They say that most people are arriving with only the clothes on their back. Many have made it to Ethiopia. An aid worker wrote: “at the overcrowded point of entry [from Sudan], people lack shelter, food & water among other basic needs.” A woman told her “We cannot sleep at night bcs of snakes. We are scared & suffer a lot"

Continued abuses, including sexual violence 

Eritrean refugees continue to get killed, injured, suffer sexual violence and many other abuses in this war. 

HOW TO HELP

You can donate to our fundraiser supporting Eritrean refugees affected by the war in Sudan here.

READ MORE

• Al Jazeera - Eritrean refugees caught between crisis at home, Sudan conflict

• BBC - Sudan conflict: The Eritrean refugees caught between two crises

• The Guardian - Eritrea accused of forcibly repatriating civilians caught up in Sudan fighting

• Voice of America - Refugees Trapped Amid Fighting in Sudan Say, 'Please Be Our Voice'