Recent fighting between Ethiopian government forces and Fano militias in the northwestern Amhara region has put Sudanese refugees in and around camps near the Sudan border at grave risk, Human Rights Watch said today. The Ethiopian government should step up protection of the refugees, who, for more than a year have been subjected to abuses and fighting by unidentified gunmen, militias, and more recently government forces.

Since the outbreak of armed conflict in Sudan in April 2023, tens of thousands of Sudanese and other nationals have sought refuge in Ethiopia. Many initially went to two refugee camps in the Amhara region, where local gunmen and militias carried out killings, beatings, looting, abductions for ransom, and forced labor. In July 2024, Ethiopian and United Nations refugee authorities relocated thousands of refugees to a new camp in Amhara. Since early September, Fano, an Amhara armed group, has clashed with federal forces near refugee sites, and occupied some sites, putting refugees at further risk of attack.

“Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia have been targets of abuses for more than a year from various armed actors,” said Laetitia Bader, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “These refugees have fled horrific abuses back home and urgently need protection, not further threats to their lives.”

Between May and September Human Rights Watch interviewed by phone twenty Sudanese refugees at three refugee camps and at a transit center in the Amhara region, and spoke to Sudanese activists and aid workers. Human Rights Watch also analyzed satellite imagery of the camps and transit center, and videos and photographs sent to researchers or posted online. Human Rights Watch sent its preliminary findings to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Ethiopian government’s Refugee and Returnee Services (RRS), and received responses on September 25 and October 8, respectively.

Since June 2023, unidentified gunmen and local militias have repeatedly targeted refugees at the Awlala and Kumer camps in the West Gonder Zone, committing serious abuses including at least three killings. The federal government established these camps in areas experiencing criminality and recurring skirmishes between local communities even before conflict broke out in Amhara, but then provided only limited security at the camps, Human Rights Watch found.

On May 1, after months of violent incidents, more than 1,000 Sudanese refugees left the camps in protest, intending to reach the UNHCR office in Gonder town. Ethiopian police blocked the refugees, forcing them to shelter in a forested area along the road.

“We wanted to be safe when we left Sudan, but the beatings and robbery [in Ethiopia] were a lot for us to take,” said a 45-year-old refugee. “We have been going through this for one year, and every time the [Ethiopian authorities] promise something, nothing changes. We couldn’t take it anymore.”

In late July, UNHCR and RRS relocated over 2,000 refugees from Awlala and Kumer to the newly established Aftit site, also in West Gonder Zone. Many refugees sheltering in Awlala forest refused to be relocated to Aftit, fearing more violence. However, gunmen then attacked them almost daily, compelling them to leave the forest on August 8 and move toward Metemma town, near the Sudanese border.

Ethiopian authorities initially allowed them to set up temporary shelters on the roadside, but on August 21, Ethiopian forces ordered the refugees to move to the Metemma transit center. When the refugees refused, security forces destroyed their makeshift shelters and beat the refugees.

“I got beaten on my right ribs five times,” said a 45-year-old refugee. “My kids were crying. Someone asked the military and police to stop beating me in front of my kids. They started insulting us, saying if we didn’t want to stay in Ethiopia, then we should go back to our country, to Sudan.”

Several hundred of these refugees were sent back to Sudan. UNHCR said they returned voluntarily, though several refugees told Human Rights Watch that government security forces forcibly returned them to Sudan, including by separating some families in the process. RRS said there was “no reason to return refugees to Sudan because the situation there does not allow repatriation.”

On September 1, fighting between Fano and the Ethiopian military intensified near the Metemma transit center and Aftit camp.

Ethiopia is party to the UN refugee convention and the 1969 African refugee convention, both of which prohibit refoulement, the return of refugees to a place where their life or freedom would be threatened. This includes so-called “constructive refoulement,” in which a government puts so much direct or indirect pressure on refugees that they feel compelled to return to their home country. In May 2023, UNHCR guidance urged countries to suspend all forced returns to Sudan, given the insecurity and ongoing risks.

The warring parties to the armed conflict in Amhara are bound by international humanitarian law. Both government forces and non-state armed groups are prohibited from attacking civilians and civilian objects, are obligated to take all feasible measures to minimize harm to civilians, and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid. Refugees are protected as civilians, as are refugee camps, unless used for military purposes.

All military forces and armed groups should end abuses against refugees, stay out of the camps, and facilitate the safe delivery of humanitarian aid, Human Rights Watch said.

Ethiopia’s international partners should press the government to ensure the protection of refugees, halt any forced returns, and increase humanitarian support to refugees, including relocation to safer areas.

UNHCR told Human Rights Watch that it continues to advocate for expanding refugee resettlement areas outside of Ethiopia. RRS stated that it “is continuously monitoring the situation to adjust its protection strategies in response to any developments in the conflict,” and that the international community’s response to its call for greater assistance has been minimal.

“The Ethiopian government should uphold its obligations to protect refugees in its territory and relocate them as possible, away from the war zone,” Bader said. “Ethiopia’s international partners should be increasing support for these refugees so that they receive medical care, food, shelter, and other emergency assistance.”