Spontaneous return presents new challenges

Thousands of Eritreans who fled fighting to Sudan have spontaneously returned, said the Eritrean Relief and Refugee Commission (ERREC). In just one week, some 35,000 Eritrean refugees returned to the Gash Barka Zone in western Eritrea, said the weekly update of the Information Coordination Centre (ERREC/OCHA). It said the return was a “positive development” but presented new challenges for ERREC and the humanitarian community. With the onset of rains, the area was prone to malaria, and the health situation of the returnees was “precarious”, said the report. Not all returnees were able to go home because of “security concerns, the rains and simply because their homes may have been destroyed or looted”. ERREC called for the pre-positioning of food for the returnees, and in drought-affected areas.

It cited “increased concern” about the danger of landmines to civilian populations. In a recent landmine incident in the Mai Mine sub-zone there were “both fatalities and casualties reported”. The Eritrean army is clearing the border areas but the report said progress was slow. The report called for more mine awareness.

The report also expressed concern about the Adi Keshi camp for internally displaced people. With a growing camp population, there have been reports of human rights abuses, including rape. According to the report, the camp lacked shelter facilities in particular.

Meanwhile, Eritrean state radio reported on Wednesday that 689 people have returned to Tesseney, western Eritrea, from camps in neighbouring Sudan. The voluntary repatriation of refugees started on Tuesday under a tripartite agreement between Eritrea, Sudan and the UNHCR, signed on 14 June in Asmara.