EXTERNAL SITUATION REPORT 30 July 05 August 2014
IOMSLOResponsetoSouthSudanCrisisinEthiopia
GENERALOVERVIEWFrom the total of over 431,043 South Sudanese
refugeeswho have fled into neighbouring countries, 180,054
havecrossedintoEthiopia(accordingtoUNHCR:01August).Thismakes
Ethiopia the biggest receiving country of
SouthSudaneserefugees.IOMhasassisted162,345refugeesinGambellaand1,780inBenishangulGumuz
since the conflict broke out in midDecember, 2013. During this
reporting period, IOM hasmoved a total of 1,149 refugeeswho have
entered fromSouthSudan toEthiopia (1,131 AkoboandBurbieyentrypoints
inGambellaRegion)and(18
AbrahamuandTongoinBenishangulGumuzRegion).ThemovementstoKulecamp2(nowrenamedTierkedi)hasremainedhalted
following the camp reaching its
capacity.However,asof02AugustIOMhasstartedmovingrefugeesfrom Pagak
to Pamdong Transition Station (located
5kmawayfromKule2/Tierkedi)untiltheyaretoberelocatedtoeitherNipNiporOkuguCampwhicharebeingconsideredby
UNHCR and the Administration for Refugee
andReturneeAffairs(ARRA).
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Atotalof14,500refugeesarestillawaitingrelocationfromPagakentrypointandMatarwaystation.
BaroRiverisoverflowingtoBurbiey.Hence,IOMismovingrefugeestoMatarwaystation.
TotalnumberofrefugeesmovedbyIOM:162,345fromGambellaand1,780fromBenishangulGumuz.
HIGHLIGHTS
RefugeesonboardanIOMboatmovingfromAkobotoBurbiey.IOM2014(AlemayehuSeifeselassie)
RefugeesawaitingrelocationatBurbieyentrypointGambellaRegion,Ethiopia.
IOM2014(Photo:AlemayehuSeifeselassie)
The Pamdong Transition Stationhas a capacity to accommodate3,000
refugees.With over 1,000refugeesalready resettled
there,itislikelytofillupsoon.IOMhasbeen restricted to
themaximumtransportation of 500 refugeesperdayuntil the
constructionofcampsisfinalized.Okugu camp, located in Dimatown, is
hosting 6,000 refugeeswho have crossed over Raddentry point.
Following existingcamps surpassing their capacity,ARRA and UNHCR
are lookinginto upgrading Okugu toaccommodate up to 35,000refugees.
Okugu camp, which issix square kilometres, is located542km from
Pagak, 609km fromMatar and 439km fromGambella.NipNip, however, is
locatedmuch closer to bothMatar andPagak (40km from Matar and273km
from Pagak) and is onlytwo kilometres from
LeitchourCamp.PartofthelandatNipNiphas already been cleared
whilethe remaining, needs to becleared.Partners areengaged
insetting up the camp with thenecessary materials and it isexpected
to be finalized soonerthanOkugu.When finalized, NipNip will beable
to accommodate 25,000refugees. It isexpected
thatNipNipwillbegintoreceiverefugeesonTuesday12August.As new camps
are beingconstructed,backlogsofrefugeesare continuing to grow at
Pagakentry point (with an
approximately 6,500 asylumseekers) andMatar way station(with
approximately 8,000asylum seekers) await ingrelocation.TheBaroRiver
is overflowing toBurbiey and IOM has continuedto move asylumseekers
fromBurbieyentrypointtoMatarwaystation.IOM hasmoved a total of
934vulnerablerefugees(onaUNHCRhelicopter), as of 05 August.Those
transported include thevery old, lactatingmothers, sickchildren and
the disabled, whohave been judged not fit
totravelbybusorboat.Recently arriving refugees atAkobo and Burbiey
are beingsettled at Matar. With anongoing influx at Burbiey
andPagak,there isachancethatthebacklog will add up in Matarunless
the relocationmovementcontinuessoon.
IOM is also facilitating refugeemovement from Assosa in
theRegional State of BenishangulGumuz. As of 5th August, therehas
been 1,780 refugeesrelocated from different entrypoints in the
region. Over themonth of July alone,
421refugeeswererelocatedfromthedifferent entry points
inBenishangulGumuzRegion.At the beginning of the SouthSudan crisis,
therewas a steadyinflux of refugees through nineentry points,
namely: Kurmuk,Gizan, Gemed, Ashesheko,Tongo, AlMahal,
Abrahamu,
Sostenya camp and Bamza. Sixentry points have since beenclosed
down due to insecurityand refugeesare currentlybeingprocessed from
Abrahamu,Tongo and Bambasi. IOM is alsoproviding predeparture
medicalscreening to identify
refugeeswhomayneedmedicalattentionand/or referral on arrival at
thecamp.On request by UNHCR, IOM isalso facilitating
camptocamptransportation for refugees whomay want to relocate to
adifferentcampforonereasonoranother.PartnershipsandCoordinationIOMcloselycollaborateswiththeGovernment
of Ethiopias ARRA,UNHCR and humanitarianpartners on the ground
torespond to this emergency. IOMis also coordinating
healthreferrals and care with
theMinistryofHealth,WHO,UNHCR,UNFPA,IFRC,UNICEF,IMC,ARRA,ACF, MSFF
as well as regionalhospitals.Challenges Limited reception
capacity
resul t ing in l imitedmovement.
Heavy rains flooding the
BaroRivermakingthestayatBurbieychallenging.
Security threats have made
some camps in BenishangulGumuzinaccessible.
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IOMappreciatestheinvaluablesupportfromthefollowingdonorsandpartnerswhosesupporthasenabledusreachouttothosemostinneed:
Contact:SeniorCommunicationsAssistantIAlemayehuSeifeselassieIsalemayehu@iom.intICell:251911639082