Over 131,000 displaced in Ethiopia: IOM

Addis Ababa, March 10 More than 131,000 people are displaced in 39 accessible locations in Ethiopia's conflict-affected Tigray and the neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.

The UN migration agency, in its latest Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) survey released on Tuesday, said almost 70 per cent of the reported displaced people, or 91,046, are in Tigray, reports Xinhua news agency.

Afar and Amhara regions accounted for 34,091 and 6,453 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), respectively.

It also indicated that many of the displaced people, including women and children, are reportedly in need of emergency shelter, food and access to clean and safe drinking water.

The IOM, however, indicated that the data are not indicators of the total number of persons displaced due to the crisis, but rather represent only the number of IDPs in sites accessible to DTM surveyors.

The latest assessment was conducted from December 22, 2020, to January 14, 2021.

The DTM gathers and analyses data on population estimates, vulnerabilities, and the needs of displaced populations.

In the three regions, the IOM identified 30,383 displaced households.

Last week, the Ethiopian government disclosed that humanitarian aid was provided to some 3.8 million people in Tigray.

The government has also allowed humanitarian access to Tigray, stressing that all entities operating in the state should abide by the laws of the land.

Months of fighting between the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which used to rule the Tigray regional state, and the Ethiopian National Defense Forces have reportedly left thousands of people dead, hundreds of thousands of others displaced, and millions in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

According to Ethiopian government figures, the conflict has displaced around 2.2 million people, while 4.5 million people are in need of emergency aid.

( With inputs from IANS )