A humanitarian catastrophe is set to unfold in the southern region of Gambella as the federal government deploys troops to help subdue intense violence and unrest that residents and aid workers in the area say stems from rapidly deteriorating living conditions.
With violence escalating and the death toll mounting, relief agencies have begun to suspend their operations as a result of the latest deadly conflict amid an influx of refugees fleeing violence in Sudan and South Sudan.
The latest relief agency to pull out of the region is the World Food Programme (WFP), one of Ethiopia's leading aid agencies.
"Due to escalating tensions in the Gambella region, ongoing food distribution has been temporarily halted in the region, where more than 400,000 refugees rely on assistance, including new arrivals from Sudan and South Sudan", a WFP spokesperson said this week.
Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn
The latest conflict began last month, when the Gambella's police chief, Umod Ujulu, who belongs to the Nuer ethnic group, was killed by his deputy, who hails from the Anuak ethnic group.
The killing triggered a wave of violence that residents say has become difficult to contain.
The President of the Gambella Regional State, Alemitu Omod, said that there are many civilians who have died and are still unaccounted for, and insinuated that the number of the casualties is high.
She confirmed the conflict is still ongoing with the city of Gambella remaining tense and deserted as strict curfews are being introduced to allow families to collect the bodies of their loved ones from public streets.
On Friday, Lok Gatkuoth, a senior figure in the Jewi camp (one of several hosting a total of 430,000 South Sudanese refugees sheltered in Gambella), told The Reporter that the camp has not been spared, reporting that people are being attacked and killed because of their ethnicity.
Gambella is no stranger with ethnic clashes between the two dominant tribes, the Nuer and Anuak over land rights, resources and political sharing and armed attacks happening regularly.
Nyateny Nul, a resident of Gambella, thinks the region is suffering from a dwindling economy, high unemployment and declining support for the thousands of refugees that continue to come to the area, from South Sudan and most recently from Sudan.
"People are now hungry and they blame their misfortune on others, pushing them to see violence as a way to escape their extreme poverty and hopeless situation and living conditions," she said.
The region has a reputation for a political power structure split among ethnic lines, making it hard to govern and leaving it prone to recurring conflicts which often spill into Gambella's refugee camps, which themselves have been grappling with declining support since last year.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
A statement from Doctors Without Borders illustrates the situation.
"Living conditions for refugees in Ethiopia's Gambella region are rapidly deteriorating following the significant cuts to humanitarian aid in the region," the humanitarian organization said last year. "The sharp decline is largely due to global reductions in support from key donors such as USAID, straining basic services such as food distribution, health care, access to clean water, and sanitation services."
Many residents say it has since gotten worse and extreme, making vulnerable camps with little infrastructure prone to conflict as many fight for the little support that is arriving to the area. The situation is only compounded by the ethnic tensions in the region.
James Akob, a recent arrival from Juba and now living in Pugindo refugee camp, Ethiopia's biggest temporary settlement, describes the ethnic strife of the last few weeks as a "bloodbath" and said that, even within the refugee camp, people are dying.
"Hungry residents turning against each other based on their ethnicity, blaming their misfortune on the other group and killing each other," said James.
He blamed the influence of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-In Opposition (SPLM-IO), one half of the coalition that rules South Sudan, for sowing the seeds of the recent unrest.
