Visiting Sudan, the European Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, expressed EU solidarity and increased aid following the massive influx of refugees from the Tigray region of Ethiopia to Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok and the Chairman of the Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, on Wednesday 2 December.
“I commend the government for its swift reaction to this new and grave humanitarian crisis”, the Commissioner said on Twitter on Wednesday.
He was also to meet with representatives of humanitarian organizations and travel to the border area of eastern Sudan to visit the camps of Hamdayet and Um Rakuba, where more than 45,000 refugees have arrived in recent weeks.
In addition to the four million euros in emergency humanitarian aid recently mobilised for Ethiopian refugees in Sudan (see EUROPE 12605/9), assistance is being stepped up through the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism.
In response to a request for assistance from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Sweden, Denmark, Luxembourg, Estonia and Norway have offered assistance.
Sweden will provide three base camps with tents for humanitarian workers to be delivered to UNHCR in Sudan. Further assistance is expected from other countries in the coming days.
On Wednesday, the European Commission also approved €70 million for the support programme for Sudanese families to underpin the country’s economic reforms. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)