Fire again breaks out at refugee camp for Eritreans

For the second time in recent months, a fire has destroyed the homes of thousands of Eritrean refuges in an Ethiopian camp close to the two countries' common border. Humanitarian sources told IRIN that a third of shelters at Wa'ala Nihibi camp near Shiraro in west Tigray were destroyed in the blaze which occurred after flames from open fires caught the side of one of the straw houses. “Everyone fought to try and stop the fire but even so around a third of their homes were destroyed,” said an eyewitness. “They are now rebuilding their homes once again.” “The sooner they can move from the area to a better camp, then the better for everybody,” added the aid worker who works at the camp. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) is planning to move the 5,400 refugees away from the border region in July. The move follows increasing calls for the refugees, who fled Eritrea during the two-year war with Ethiopia, to be moved from the border area for their “protection and emotional safety". The UN’s Emergencies Unit for Ethiopia (EUE) has led calls for the relocation of the refugees to a better site with improved facilities. But according to UNHCR officials, although a new site, Idaga Hibret, has been identified which is over 50 km from the border, the facilities are not yet in place to house the refugees. The current camp, which is currently 20 km from the existing border, is home to around 4,000 ethnic Kunama and more than 1,000 other Eritreans.