Sharjah24 – AFP: At a sprawling refugee reception centre in Sudan, Ethiopians who fled the deadly Tigray conflict queued haphazardly outside a school-turned-relief facility to receive handouts of food, water and clothing.
"I escaped in these clothes and have been in them since I arrived," Babosh Alamshed told AFP on Friday, pointing to his stained red T-shirt and worn-out black trousers.
"The war did this to us. We are starving. The help we receive is close to nothing," said the 21-year-old, who arrived in Sudan's "Village 8" transit camp two weeks ago, after a three-day trek.
Ethiopia's northern Tigray region has been rocked by bloody fighting since November 4, when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced the launch of military operations there.
The ongoing conflict is reported to have killed hundreds of people and forced thousands more to flee into neighbouring Sudan.
On Friday morning, Alamshed took his place in a long queue outside the aid facility to receive clothes, soap and other basic items.
Ethiopians frustrated by the wait and the sweltering heat jostled to enter, as a couple of Sudanese security forces standing guard tried to shoo them away with sticks.
Hours later, refugees broke through the metal gates and rushed to compete for handouts.