More than 131,000 people have been displaced in 39 accessible places in Ethiopia’s Tigray region and nearby Afar and Amhara, according to a survey.
In a statement on Tuesday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that its study on displacement tracking matrix (DTM) is the first official data of its kind on the crisis in northern Ethiopia, which began in November 2020.
On November 3, 2020, the now-banned Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and its special forces attacked the northern command of Ethiopia’s national defense force, killing soldiers and looting military hardware.
The next day, the country launched what has been called a large-scale law enforcement operation in Tigray, in which the TPLF was largely defeated and some of its top leaders and fighters were either neutralized or captured.
Although Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared that the military operation was over on November 28, there have been sporadic clashes between government forces and fighters loyal to the TPLF. More than 60,000 Ethiopians fled the fighting to neighboring Sudan, while international organizations have called for increased humanitarian aid in the region for civilians affected by the conflict.
“The data are not indicators of the total number of displaced persons due to the crisis, but only represent the number of internally displaced persons in places accessible to DTM inspectors, according to the IOM.” Almost 70% (91,046) are in Tigray, 26% (34,091) are in Afar and 5% (6,453) are in Amhara.
Many displaced people – including women and children – reportedly need emergency protection, food and access to clean and safe drinking water, “it added.
The IOM said that its displacement tracking matrix will continue to expand its assessment coverage in the northern part of the country so that the needs of more internally displaced persons can be assessed.
“The assessment was carried out in the western, north-western, south-eastern and southern zones of the Tigray region, as central and eastern zones were not available during the data collection period,” it added.
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