The Refugee Brief, 28 January 2020
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Thousands flee continued clashes in Sudan's Darfur. Clashes between rival ethnic groups in El Geneina, in Sudan's West Darfur State, have forced more than 11,000 people to cross into neighbouring Chad over the past month, including 4,000 during last week alone, according to UNHCR. Another 46,000 people have been displaced inside the country. The attacks, which began in late December, have mainly affected people living in camps who had already been displaced by the region's long-running armed conflict. While many found refuge in schools, mosques and other buildings in El Geneina, others fled for the border with Chad 20 kilometres away. UNHCR said the new arrivals were now scattered in several villages in the Chadian province of Ouaddaï in "dire conditions", with little shelter from the elements and in urgent need of food and water. A spokesperson said that the rate of new arrivals risked outpacing the capacity of UNHCR and its partners and that the agency was working with the Chadian government to find a new site further from the border where the refugees could be relocated and helped.
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UN report urges accountability for Libya detention centre strike. A UN report released on Monday reveals new details about an air strike on a detention centre in the Tripoli suburb of Tajoura last July that killed more than 50 refugees and migrants. The 13-page report by the UN Support Mission in Libya and the UN Human Rights Office found that the location of the detention centre in a military complex, next to an ammunition depot, made it a target. In addition, guards at the centre prevented detainees from fleeing after the first air strike hit. The second strike 11 minutes later directly hit a hangar filled with refugees and migrants, killing at least 47 men and six boys. The report calls for all parties to Libya's conflict to conduct a further investigation that would ensure accountability. It also calls for urgent action to prevent a similar tragedy from happening. An estimated 2,000 refugees and migrants remain detained in close proximity to fighting in and around Tripoli, which has escalated in recent weeks despite a ceasefire brokered earlier this month. |
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Heavy air strikes in north-west Syria spark fresh displacement. A significant escalation in hostilities sparked new displacement of tens of thousands of civilians from southern Idlib province on Monday. Rescue workers said the city of Marat al-Numan has been devastated by barrel bombs, missiles and shelling in recent days that have laid waste to scores of homes and vital infrastructure. A witness told Reuters that thousands of people fled from the towns of Ariha and Saraqib on Monday in trucks and cars heading northwards. The renewed fighting comes after a 12 January ceasefire brokered by Turkey and Russia that lasted only two days. The UN on Monday estimated that more than 30,000 people had been newly displaced since last week and that a total of 389,000 people have been forced to flee since 1 December, compounding "an already dire humanitarian situation" in Idlib. |
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Asylum-seekers arrive in divided Cyprus. The New York Times reports from the Republic of Cyprus, which received more than 11,200 asylum-seekers last year – the highest number per capita in the European Union. While a small number arrive by boat from Lebanon, Syria or Turkey, according to authorities, the majority arrive by land after flying into Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus and then crossing the so-called green line that divides the small island. Smugglers reportedly often suggest the route to potential asylum-seekers without explaining the intricacies of the political situation on the island. Local media report that the government on Monday announced that it is preparing new policies to curb arrivals to the island, including closed reception centres for asylum-seekers. Meanwhile, UNHCR is calling on the government to speed up its asylum procedures and to strengthen integration efforts for those granted protection. |
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French police evacuate hundreds from Paris camp. Police moved hundreds of people from a makeshift camp in northern Paris early this morning in the latest attempt to discourage asylum-seekers from living on the streets of the French capital, reports AFP. Police said 1,436 people had been removed from the camp along the Paris ring road. France's interior minister had promised to clear all migrant camps from the city by the end of last year, in part by opening more shelters for asylum seekers, but also by deporting those whose claims are rejected. Paris police chief Didier Lallement told journalists he wants an end to "a never-ending cycle of evacuations followed by new installations", but critics argue that unless the government provides long-term housing or the prospect of legal residency, many of those evicted will return to the streets. |
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Holocaust survivors' stories could help child refugees, say researchers. As events were held on Monday to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, researchers at Aberystwyth University in Wales announced plans to study the experiences of children who escaped the Holocaust to learn how better to help children fleeing conflict today. Researchers will look at accounts of the violence child survivors of the Holocaust witnessed and experienced and study how it affected them in later life. The aim of the research is to inform policy and help ensure child refugees arriving in the UK get the support they need. |
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CNN reports from Kakuma camp in Kenya, where a group of young refugees used VR headsets to take a virtual school trip to London's National Gallery last week. They explored some of the gallery's most famous paintings and received a live lesson from artist Lisa Milroy. "It felt just like I was in London," said 18-year-old Nyagoa, who was born in the camp. |
Before the latest influx from West Darfur, Chad was hosting nearly 440,000 refugees, including 330,000 from Sudan. |
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