With over 900,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers residing in the country, Ethiopia is the second largest refugee-hosting country in Africa. Among the refugee population in Ethiopia, South Sudanese are the largest in number with over 422,000 individuals (46% of the total), followed by Somalis (28%) and Eritreans (19%).
Between January and August 2018, Ethiopia received over 36,000 refugees, mainly from South Sudan (17k+), Eritrea (12k+), Sudan (3k+), and Somalia (~1k).
Between two and five thousand Somali refugees from Eritrea are expected to enter Ethiopia in the coming weeks through borders in the Tigray Regional State, with over one thousand already inside Ethiopia, awaiting screening before relocating to the Somali Regional State. Relocating these refugees to the safety of camps needs to take place urgently, or else there is a considerable risk of them having to return to Eritrea against their wishes.
