UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is appealing to Eritrea not to close the Umkulu refugee camp after hundreds of refugees left the site in recent weeks, amidst reports that local authorities had asked residents to leave. Umkulu camp, located some 10 kilometres from the Red Sea port town of Massawa, is Eritrea’s only refugee camp. As of mid-June, the camp hosted more than 2,100 Somali refugees. “Closing a camp which has hosted Somali refugees for close to twenty years without offering alternatives raises serious concerns,” UNHCR’s Mazou added. Ethiopia is host to some 257,000 Somali refugees.

Source: Ethiopian News July 03, 2019 09:45 UTC