Addis Ababa, Ethiopia- Eritrean refugees organized a protest in front of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) office in the capital Addis Ababa, demanding the removal of thousands of refugees from refugee camps in the war-torn Tigray area.

About 300 protesters blocked a road leading to the UNHCR office, holding signs that read “Stop Abuse of Eritrean Refugees” and “Protection of Refugee Rights.”

They also asked the UN agency and its Ethiopian counterpart, the Agency for Refugees and Returnees (ARRA), to provide basic humanitarian assistance to thousands of refugees who fled the war zone to Ethiopia.

One of the organizers of the rally, Miku Digaffe, told Al Jazeera: “We want the world to know that Eritrean refugees are suffering in Ethiopia, and we feel ignored and forgotten.”

Many of the protesters came from the refugee camps in Hitsats and Shimbella, which housed more than 30,000 refugees, but were closed in February after being attacked after an armed rebellion in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.

Since January, thousands of Eritrean refugees have been displaced by the rebellion. Many of them have moved to two surviving camps in Tigray, Mai Aini and Adi Harush, while others have chosen to return to their home country of Eritrea.

Protesters at the rally Al Jazeera said that under the control of the rebel Tiglia Defence Force (TDF), refugees in Hitsats and Shimbella refugee camps have suffered large-scale robberies, killings and sexual assaults.

“My mother was killed by the Tigray militia when we fled the camp,” 25-year-old Anbesa Wubaselassie told Al Jazeera through an interpreter.

“One day, we buried 10 refugees who were shot dead in one day,” said Mitiku, another protester who fled the Hittats camp.

Since the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (Abiy Ahmed) accused Tigray leaders of attacking military bases in November 2020, federal troops have been deployed to the area. Since November 2020, Tigray has a total of more than 1 million Displaced people.

Both sides have been accused of atrocities, and thousands of people have been killed in the worst conflict since Abiy took over as prime minister in 2018.

Within a few weeks of the start of the war in November, government forces occupied Mekele, the capital of Tigray, and Prime Minister Ahmed declared victory.

But last month, TDF forces regained the capital and launched a new offensive aimed at regaining control of the western and southern parts of Tigray and wooing other regions, including Oromia, the largest region in Ethiopia.

UNHCR reports that since July 14, aid agencies have been unable to enter camps currently controlled by TDF [Tiksa Negeri/Reuters]

As new fighting broke out last month, people are now increasingly worried about the safety and well-being of the thousands of Eritrean refugees in the two remaining camps of Maiani and Adi Harush.

The UN refugee agency said that since July 14, aid agencies have been unable to enter the two camps currently controlled by TDF.

UNHCR said this week that the situation of Tigray refugees is becoming more and more serious, with approximately 24,000 Eritrean refugees trapped in two camps in Tigray.

In a statement released last week, ARRA stated that it is working to establish a new camp in the North Gondar district of the neighbouring Amahara region for refugees fleeing the conflict zone. The statement said, however, that the situation is deteriorating and remains a matter of serious concern.

Although the fate of the refugees who remained in Tigray is still unknown, it is still difficult for those who escaped to survive.

United Nations It has been stated that the war will affect approximately 55,000 Eritrean refugees who have sought refuge in the Afar region bordering Tigray.

“We no longer feel safe here. The war and its trauma have made Ethiopia no longer a safe place for Eritrean refugees. We want to move to another country,” Ambesa said.