ADDIS ABABA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- More than 11,000 people have crossed into Ethiopia due to the ongoing situation in Sudan as of Wednesday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) has disclosed in its latest situation update.
They are arriving in Ethiopia via the border town of Metema in the West Gondar Zone of Amhara Region since April 21, the UNOCHA said.
Of the total arrivals recorded, the largest group is Ethiopian nationals, representing 37 percent, followed by Sudanese at 17 percent, Turkish at 14 percent and Eritrean at 10 percent, according to figures from the UNOCHA.
The UNOCHA further noted that about 19 percent of the overall arrivals are minors, adding that the UN migration agency, International Organization for Migration, is presently providing reception, transportation and other assistance.
It warned with a limited presence on the ground, partners are aiding reception, temporary accommodation, drinking water and food assistance, sleeping mats, solar lamps, hygiene kits, dignity kits, kitchen sets, free calls for all arrivals to contact families, and transportation of individuals from the border to the transit center, and onward transportation to Gondar city and Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.
Close to a dozen communal shelters to house the most vulnerable are also under construction, according to the UNOCHA.
It said transportation to more than 1,200 third-country nationals and close to 1,140 Ethiopian returnees to Addis Ababa and other destinations in Ethiopia, has been availed, in addition to assisting 104 migrants to voluntarily return to Somalia.
While three sites nearby Metema have been identified for reception and shelter, Amhara regional authorities anticipate further influxes in the tens of thousands to Metema, neighboring Gendawuha town as fighting in Sudan continues.
Brutal fighting erupted in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum on April 15 and swiftly escalated in different parts of the country. The ongoing fighting is pitting the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) against the paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Both sides have accused each other of initiating the conflict.
So far, the deadly clashes have left more than 550 people dead and 4,926 others wounded, according to the Sudanese Health Ministry. ■