Europe External Programme with Africa is a Belgium-based Centre of Expertise with in-depth knowledge, publications, and networks, specialised in issues of peacebuilding, refugee protection, and resilience in the Horn of Africa. EEPA has published extensively on issues related to the movement and/or human trafficking of refugees in the Horn of Africa and on the Central Mediterranean Route. It cooperates with a wide network of universities, research organisations, civil society, and experts from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, and across Africa. The Situation Reports can be found here. To receive the situation report in your e-mail, click here. You can unsubscribe at any moment through the link at the bottom of each e-mail.
Migration and refugee situation (per 25 June)
- Libya’s eastern-based government in Benghazi has issued a decree barring entry to Sudanese, Eritrean, Ethiopian, and Somali nationals via land, sea, and air ports, citing a reorganization of how foreign entry is handled in Libya.
- The ban includes limited exemptions for accredited diplomats and certain authorized education and healthcare workers, as Libya continues to serve as a major transit country for migrants and refugees en route to Europe.
- Demonstrations are scheduled for 26 June in Brussels and Rome against the raids and forced evictions targeting migrants and refugees in Libya.
- 20 June marked World Refugee Day which has been celebrated globally under the theme “Until everyone is safe”. Despite celebrations and festivals organised across refugee hosting countries, civil society warned that inadequate protection and humanitarian crisis persists.
- As the Department of Refugee Services (DRS) closed their offices in Nairobi, Kenya, in October 2025, refugees and asylum seekers have not been able to register or obtain essential documentation.
- Through a statement issued on the World Refugee Day, the Horn Refugee Voices organisation urged DRS, UNHCR and the Kenyan government, to fully restore the services for asylum seekers, improve communication, and ensure that the implementation of processes are aligned with the legal obligations.
- Refugee Access to Work And Inclusion-Eastern Africa (RAWI-EA) called on the Kenyan government, on World Refugee Day, to accelerate documentation, expand access to formal employment, issue work permits to refugees and ensure recognition of refugee-led organisations, among others.
- Kenya hosts 852,388 registered refugees as of 31 May 2026, a quarter of which have no recognised refugee status. The vast majority of refugees in Kenya reside in the refugee complexes of Dadaab or Kakuma, whilst almost 14% live in urban areas.
- Kenya’s revised refugee policies and the Shirika Plan have not yet improved protection for refugees and asylum seekers, especially those living in cities where barriers to work, legal certainty, and financial inclusion persist.
- Ethiopia has launched the “Makkatet” refugee management roadmap to shift from an aid-dependent camp approach to a state-led model focused on development that promotes refugees’ socio-economic integration and improved services for host communities.
- The “Makkatet” plan comes as UNHCR warns that severe funding shortfalls, despite a large funding appeal, are undermining essential services like protection, healthcare, education, and sanitation.
- A Libyan court sentenced former Mitiga jail chief Osama al-Masri to seven years and four months in prison for torturing and subjecting detainees, which often included migrants and refugees, to cruel and degrading treatment.
- Video evidence has been circulating depicting poor conditions in the Brak Al-Shati (Birak) Detention Centre, an immigration detention center in Southern Libya, notorious for severe overcrowding, systematic human rights abuses, and deadly conditions linked to starvation and disease.
Situation in Sudan (per 25 June)
- Sudanese Armed Forces carried out a major operation in Geissan, Blue Nile, seizing key positions under the control of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), near the Ethiopian border.
- Hundreds of conflict-related sexual violence incidents across Sudan have been verified in the new report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) since the start of the war, affecting mostly women and girls, and adding that the true scale is likely far larger.
- The report states that sexual violence is used as a weapon of war to terrorise, control displacement routes and detentions, and in some cases may amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity.
- At least 215 civilians detained in South Darfur’s Daqris prison have reportedly died in the last two months due to “the spread of diseases and epidemics, as well as torture and mistreatment of detainees”, reports the Sudan Doctors Network (SDN).
- The SDN group raised concern about 31 detainees, including children, who were transported to Nyala, whose whereabouts are currently unknown, and called for an immediate end to forced detention.
Situation in Ethiopia (per 25 June)
- Human Rights Watch (HRW) says a proclamation recently drafted by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) on compulsory wartime mobilisation would force civilians into military service and punish refusal, while also criminalising and penalising media that are viewed as undermining recruitment.
- The HRW warns the vague, broad provisions could enable serious abuses and further shrink civic space in a region still recovering from two-year war, urging authorities to withdraw or revise the draft to meet human rights standards.
- Armed men described to be aligned with the TPLF reportedly attacked two kebeles in Ethiopia’s Afar region, killing at least two people and wounding others with heavy weapons.
- Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) says it conducted a week-long law enforcement operations in parts of Amhara, claiming it killed 230 Fano fighters and several alleged Fano leaders, while also seizing vehicles and supplies. The claims by the ENDF have not been independently verified yet.
- The Ethiopia’s Federal Auditor General 2024/25 report, which found major public-finance problems including billions of Birr in unpaid tax and unauthorized spending not returned, very low recovery of arrears, and many transactions that auditors could not verify or lacked documentation.
International and regional situation (per 25 June)
- Kenyan police blocked major routes into Nairobi ahead of a planned protest scheduled for 25 June to mark the two-year anniversary of deadly 2024 anti-government demonstrations. The public has been instructed to stay inside on Thursday for security reasons.
- The United States military resumed its operations against Al Shabab in Somalia, launching four airstrikes between 14 and 19 June in the Juba region.
Links of interest
Libya’s eastern government bans entry of nationals from four African countries
Showing Up on World Refugee Day
Kenya must not become a second prison for Eritrea exiles
World Refugee Day: Kenya urged to match progressive refugee laws with everyday reality
News: Ethiopia launches refugee integration strategy as UNHCR faces over 90% funding shortfall
Libya convicts former prison director accused of torture and cruelty
Fresh evidence of abuse at notorious Libyan enslavement centre
OHCHR Report on the Devastating Human Rights Impacts of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in Sudan
Sudan army launches offensive near Ethiopian border, captures rebel stronghold
215 civilians died in RSF-run prison in South Darfur, medics say
Ethiopia: Tigray Authorities Should Withdraw Abusive Law
At least two killed, several wounded in alleged TPLF attack in the Afar region
Ethiopian Defense Force Claims 230 Rebel Fighters Killed in Amhara Region Operations
Federal Audit Pitfalls Continue, MPs Urge Better Budget Management
Kenyan police block roads around the country’s capital ahead of anti-government protest
US carries out days of airstrikes in Somalia after a month’s pause
Joint Statement on the situation in El Obeid – Federal Foreign Office
Disclaimer: All information in this Situation Report is presented as a fluid update report, as to the best knowledge and understanding of the authors at the moment of publication. EEPA does not claim that the information is correct but verifies to the best of ability within the circumstances. Publication is weighed on the basis of interest to understand potential impacts of events (or perceptions of these) on the situation. Check all information against updates and other media. EEPA does not take responsibility for the use of the information or impact thereof. All information reported originates from third parties and the content of all reported and linked information remains the sole responsibility of these third parties. Report to info@eepa.be any additional information and corrections.