The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says relocation of newly-arrived Somali refugees in Ethiopia has begun.

The refugees fled recurring clashes between security forces and clan leaders in Las Anod in northern Somalia, with 1,036 of the most vulnerable people transferred from border areas to a new settlement over the past three days.

The UN agency said thousands of people have arrived in the Somali region of Ethiopia seeking safety since clashes started in mid-February.

As of last week, Ethiopia’s Refugees and Returnees Service had registered 91,000 people with the UNHCR’s support. Refugees continue to arrive, fleeing ongoing violence in their home country, the UNHCR said.

“Most of them are women, children, and older people; among them are more than 3,400 unaccompanied and separated children and adolescents,’’ it said.

According to the UNHCR, refugee families are biometrically registered upon arrival and provided with a tent and other essential relief items to set up a new home.

Ethiopia has generously allocated 400 hectares of land where refugees can settle and access existing services, such as health care, water, and education.

It added that while Ethiopian families hosted many refugees in their homes, others who crossed into Ethiopia remained in overcrowded shelters or were sleeping outdoors and requiring urgent assistance.

In March, the UNHCR and humanitarian partners launched an inter-agency emergency refugee response plan of US$ 116 million to address the immediate critical needs faced by refugees and host communities in this area.

Ethiopia has welcomed refugees for decades and currently hosts nearly 990,000 refugees from neighbouring countries like South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, and Sudan, the UNHCR said.

(Xinhua/NAN)