News Highlights: Record 23,000 refugees returned to Libya in 2021, NGOs warn of mass surveillance of refugees, Tigray facing famine

by Lucy Murray
Posted on September 10, 2021September 10, 2021
Africa

In this week’s highlights: The Elders address UNSC on Tigray; Refugees in Ethiopia approved for resettlement refused departure in Addis, say witnesses; UN urges opening of Tigray for aid; 29 Tigrayan bodies found in the river between Sudan and Ethiopia; 5,000 Ethiopian migrants blocked in Yemen; Ethiopia’s competing alliances; Over 23,000 refugees returned to Libya this year; More than 10,000 refugees attempted to cross from Tunisia to Italy; NGOs warn that extension of fingerprint database is a threat to refugee privacy; UK may push back refugees crossing the Channel; Migrants stuck at the EU-Belarus border facing dire conditions; Migrants and refugees arrested on unlawful reentry charges in Italy; Asylum seekers in Lesbos living in precarious temporary camp; and Education of refugee children “now under threat”.

News Highlights: Independent reports on chemical weapons entering Tigray, Mass starvation occurring in Tigray, Illegal pushbacks to Libya

In this week’s news highlights: EEPA webinar discusses the widespread abuse of refugees happening in Tigray; Reports of chemical weapons entering Tigray; International community condemns widespread starvation in Tigray and warn of potential famine in Ethiopia; Ethiopia’s UN envoy stated that Eritrean soldiers will ‘leave soon’; BBC docu-film on the perilous journey of migrants from Ethiopia to Yemen; Human trafficker Tewelde Goitom (Welid) sentenced to 18 years in prison; Alarm Phone reports illegal pushbacks in Libya; Scotland’s Council extends ban on acceptance of refugees; Refugees sentenced to 10 years over Moria fire; Police bust human smuggling ring in North Macedonia; IOM project aims to make migration data more accessible.

News Highlights: EU-US meeting on Tigray ahead of G7, Tigrayans starving to death, Webinar highlights destruction of heritage

In this week’s news highlights: Webinar highlights the destruction of heritage and holy sites and massacres of Tigray religious leaders; In-depth report on Mai Kadra massacre published by Reuters; BBC interviewed Tigryans who said they are starving to death; UNHCR concerned about Ethiopian refugees returned from Djibouti against their will; MMC report on onward migration of refugees and migrants from East Africa; Libyan PM meets the EU Commissioner Johnsson on migration and political transition; EU and US talk about crisis in Tigray ahead of G7; People seeking asylum in Denmark could be deported according to new law; UK MPs call for parliamentary inquiry on Eritrea’s role in Tigray; Court of Auditors found “worrying” deficiencies in Frontex’s procedures; Kent threatens legal action against Home secretary over poor services for child asylum seekers; Kent council threatens to reject asylum seeker applications for speaking to the media.