Hosts 206,000 refugees

Ethiopia hosts at least 206,000 refugees mainly from Somalia and the Sudan, a senior Ethiopian official said in a statement to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). Kongit Sinegiorgis told the OAU Coordinating Committee on assistance and protection of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Africa, on 17 May, that Ethiopia is also engaged in helping about 400,000 IDPs. “Ethiopia has a plan to repatriate 60,000 Somali refugees to northwest Somalia and so far 5,462 have been repatriated,” Kongit said. In the statement she said Ethiopia last year repatriated 4,855 Kenyan refugees. The official called on African countries to tackle the “root causes” of refugee flows, and help build a more “dynamic African society characterised by the rule of law, tolerance and democracy.” She stressed that funding for refugees in Africa was not sufficient.