Hundreds of Blue Nile refugees flee to Ethiopia

UNHCR says the toll has now reached over 2000 in the last four days aloneNearly 2,000 refugees from Sudan’s Blue Nile state have fled to neighboring Ethiopia in the past four days alone to escape aerial attacks by the Sudanese Air Force (SAF), the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) announced on Friday.Most of the refugees that arrived in Ethiopia from the border area of Kurmuk are women and children. The UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards said, “They tell us they fled bombings by Antonov planes in areas including Bau, Sali and Dinduro, all located between Kurmuk and the Blue Nile capital, Damazin. There are also reports that armed militia on the Sudanese side of the Kurmuk border have warned the community to leave the area, possibly in preparation for a ground offensive.”Fighting between government forces and opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) broke out on September 1. Since then aerial bombings and ground offensives have been a regular feature leading to the displacement of thousands of Sudanese people.Edwards added, “With the current situation in Blue Nile, more refugees are expected to arrive in Ethiopia. We estimate that 28,700 refugees have fled Blue Nile state since fighting began in early September.”