-
Ethiopian town still tense after weekend clashes, says UNHCR
16 Dec 2003 Ethnic clashes in Gambella, western Ethiopia, have killed dozens of people, including three workers from the UN refugee agency's partner organisation. UNHCR is closely watching developments in the area, which hosts 85,000 Sudanese refugees. -
Joint UNHCR-government registration starts in Eritrea's camps
21 Nov 2003 The UN refugee agency and the Eritrean government have just concluded the first phase of a registration exercise for more than 4,000 refugees in the country. The new data collected will be used to better tailor assistance and protection to the needs of the refugees, including those who may wish to return home. -
Eritrea returns must go beyond crossing border, says Lubbers
14 Nov 2003 Returning refugees must also receive reconstruction assistance to help them reintegrate in their home areas, said UN refugee agency chief Ruud Lubbers, calling for other UN agencies to collaborate on returnee projects in Eritrea. -
Lubbers leads Eritreans home; thanks hosts in Sudan
13 Nov 2003 UNHCR chief Ruud Lubbers has led a return convoy of nearly 900 refugees from Sudan to Eritrea after telling his Sudanese hosts that the agency would help rehabilitate some of the refugee-hosting areas in the east. -
UNHCR hopes to close Somali refugee camp at Hartisheik by year-end
23 Oct 2003 More than 1,700 Somali refugees in Ethiopia's Hartisheik camp hopes to return home by year's end, closing a chapter on one of the world's tragic refugee outflows. A convoy bringing 205 Somalis is making the final run from Hartisheik to north-eastern Somalia, now called Somaliland. -
UNHCR resumes return convoys from Sudan to Eritrea
14 Oct 2003 The UN refugee agency is restarting its programme to help Eritrean refugees go home with the end of the rainy season in Sudan. UNHCR is also handing over vacated camps and infrastructure in Sudan to the local authorities. -
Feature: Relocated Eritrean refugees find a second home in Sudan
12 Aug 2003 Eight months after the cessation of their refugee status, some 3,000 Eritreans have been moved from their camps to another settlement in eastern Sudan as part of a plan to close and consolidate refugee camps. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Eritreans have opted to return home. -
Eritreans head home from Sudan after decades in exile
9 Jul 2003 Eritrean refugees - some of Africa's longest-standing exiles - are returning home from neighbouring Sudan, after a months-long delay. UNHCR officials hope the return will help build confidence between the two African countries. -
UNHCR resumes repatriation in Horn of Africa
24 Jun 2003 More than 500 refugees - Eritreans in Sudan and Somalis in Djibouti - have returned home in two separate voluntary repatriation operations by the UN refugee agency. Hundreds more are expected to follow before the onset of the rainy season in mid-July.