Blue Nile refugees living in the Ethiopian Bambasi refugee camp have expressed discontent about what they term harassment by the Ethiopian authorities in the camp.

The authorities frequently inspect the refugees’ houses, inspecting consumption of aid items provided to the refugees by Administration for Refugee Affairs (ARA), according to a source.

Omda Aboud El Nur Abu Ras told Radio Tamazuj on Wednesday that the refugees are being disturbed by the police checking their houses. He attributed the reason to the banning of firewood in order to prevent the cutting of trees.

He added that the ARA used to distribute cooking gas to the refugees so that they did not have to go out to fetch firewood and cut trees. The Ethiopian authorities suspect the refugees of selling the gas at the market instead of using it for cooking purposes, the Omda explained.

The Blue Nile refugees have formed a committee to handle their complaints with the Ethiopian authorities as well as other problems facing them in Ethiopia concerning civil administration. “We do have a committee to intermediate in problems that may arise between the refugees themselves and disputes from outside”, Abu Ras outlined.

Instead of inspecting those who are buying and selling the aid items in the streets and at the markets, the Ethiopian security forces illegally searches the houses of the refugees, he added.

File photo: Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia (UNHCR)

 Related: Harsh conditions in Ethiopia force 261 Blue Nile refugees to return (4 December 2013)