KHARTOUM: Thousands of people are enduring long waits at the Sudan-Ethiopia border as they flee the brutal fighting that has been raging in Sudan’s capital and other parts of the country for over two weeks.
The conflict has killed hundreds, injured thousands, and uprooted tens of thousands, with civilians caught in the crossfire. At the border, families have been sleeping on the ground out in the open, waiting for their turn to cross to safety.
The journey to the border is an arduous one, with families travelling for days to reach it. The road to the border is lined with minibuses carrying people fleeing the conflict. The minibuses move at a snail’s pace, and at the end of the road, Sudanese and Ethiopian flags flutter in the sky, a mere 10 metres between them. However, another long wait lies in store at the border.
At the border, people from all over the world are gathered, all hoping to make it to the other side as quickly as possible. An official at the crossing said that about 9,000 people crossed the border, the majority of whom are foreigners, including many Turkish nationals.
As of Tuesday, about 3,500 people of 35 different nationalities had found refuge in Ethiopia, according to data from the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration. Over 40 percent of those are Turkish and 14 percent are Ethiopians who lived in Sudan and are returning home.
Surge in migration after Sudan fighting
Many of the Sudanese crossings are Gulf workers like Diaeddin Mohammed, an accountant with a Dubai-based company. Mohammed chose to flee to Ethiopia because the distance from Khartoum to the Ethiopian city of Gondar, which has an airport, is about 850 kilometres.
By comparison, Cairo is a gruelling 2,000 kilometre road trip north through the desert, with Sudanese refugees often waiting days to be processed at the long border. Once in Gondar, Mohammed could conveniently book a direct flight to Dubai.
Others, like Ahmed Hussein, had to abandon their businesses in Khartoum for a life in exile. Hussein, along with his wife and three daughters, want to cross to safety in Addis Ababa until they see where things are going in Sudan.
Hussein said that he would try to start a small business in Ethiopia if that is possible, but in the meantime, they would try to survive with whatever means they have.
The situation at the Sudan-Ethiopia border remains dire, with thousands of people waiting for their turn to cross to safety. The conflict in Sudan shows no signs of abating, and until it does, people will continue to flee to neighbouring countries in search of safety.
