September 10, 2011 (ADDIS ABABA) – A week after fighting broke out between the Sudan armed forces and members of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (North), the volatile security situation in Sudan’s Blue Nile State continues to drive civilians out of their homes into exile in Ethiopia.

There are an estimated 20,000 Sudanese refugees who crossed into Ethiopia over the past week, according to UNHCR’s September 9, 2011 update of status of refugees in Ethiopia. Some of the latest arrivals are now arriving with livestock and other personal property due to fear of escalation in the fighting.

Tuesday night (September 6) saw one of the largest groups to cross the border with 4,000 refugees entering into Kurmuk, in western Ethiopia, the statement noted. This followed reports of renewed clashes in the Sudan side of Kurmuk.

Before the new refugee influx, Ethiopia has been accommodating more than 26,000 Sudanese refugees in two camps- Fugnido in the Gambella Region and Sherkole in the Benishangul-Gumuz region.

Sherkole camp currently accommodates close to 8,000 refugees and can take in only 2,000 more refugees before it is full. UNHCR and partners are scaling up work on developing the new camp site at Tongo which can house 10,000 refugees. Tongo is one of three sites given by the Ethiopian government to take in new arrivals. Each of the three camps can accommodate 10,000 refugees.

Currently Ethiopia is hosting a total of 245,000 refugees. This figure does not include Somali new arrivals in the Gode area and Sudanese new arrivals in the Benishangul-Gumuz whose bio-data have not yet been entered into the UNHCR data management system.

Out of the total; over 160,000 are Somalis, more than 80,000 of them arriving so far this year. The other refugee groups in the country include over 50,000 Eritreans and some 26,000 Sudanese refugees who are accommodates in the Benishangul-Gumuz and Gambella Regions.