Ethiopian Red cross Society Benishangul Gumuz regional branch office unknown armed groups attack on civilian people Emergency Assessment Report

Assessment date------11 September 2020

Assessment team------1. Shebabew Assegae Branch Head

2. Mr Girmaw Tenaw BDRT Team

3. Mr Zerihun Tilahun Driver

Assessment area------ Wombera,Bullen, and

Specific affected area------Wombera,Bullen,Dangur and Guba Various Kebeles

Settlement area------Dependent on relatives of people from Amhara who left the Area and backed to

Type of disaster------unknown armed groups attack on civilian people focusing on highlanders.

1. Back ground of the Disaster

Following the establishment of Prosperity party at national level and at regional level different competing political parties came to emerge in Benishangul Gumuz which has named their name Boro Shinasha Development party, Gumuz Democratic Party, Berta Democratic revolutionary party and all of these Competing political parties came to establish Coalition as a political party.

Hence following the national and regional reform agendas and the death of Artist Hachalu Hundesa government has detained the leaders of all leaders of the above political parties.

Therefore following the detention of competing political parties the remaining Competing political party leaders and members get to organize themselves with modern military weapons and set their training and camps at the border of and Egypt. So initially they were destroying and destructing the government military assets and fighting with the national defense force, the national federal police, the regional police and the regional special police force frequently for more than six months since last year of May, 2020 to take power of the government and to weaken the power of the ruling prosperity party at Benishangul regional state.

Following the regular and consistent instability, these bosh and forest based unknown military equipped anti prosperity party and anti-peace groups has taken inhuman killing, destroying and destruction of all highlanders property and life Since Pagwme 1/13/2012 E.C yet in Four woredas of Metekel Zone which is very adjacent to Amhara regional State namely Wombera,Bullen,Guba and Dangur woredas.

In the past few two years the branch provides different relief materials for the Peoples victims of natural disaster and internal conflicts occurred in different part of the region. While the branch deals with the problem, it follows all procedures starting from Assessment up to distribution and post distribution monitoring stages. Therefore magnitude of disaster and disaster affected profile is being presented as tabulated with this draft report which is occurred at the place mentioned above.

2. Actions undertaken by the branch

The regional branch has deployed 4 ambulances serving for 24 hours since the outbreak of the disaster and human crises. The regional branch deployed ambulances has served for more than 100s of injured people to get the emergency health care including to the referral service to the national defense force, typically we have provided for 12 badly injured defense force up to Bahir Dar hospital with Red Cross ambulance. Using the deployed ambulances and Volunteers we have collected and transported the Dade bodies from the bush by integrating with military force. 3. Assessment mission done so far

• The branch got different information about the incidence from Regional DRM bureau, our own coordination offices at Bullen,Wombera and Metekel Zone as well as from the regional and national media. Having the information from the above source the branch assessment team travelled around 600 km to the area where people were killed, injured, displaced and their property was damaged so far. The rapid emergency assessment activities done are : • At the arrival the team contacted the woreda Chief administration and DPP offices disaster prevention department and inform the team mission. And take permission from the government since it was very highly politically sensitive. • Collect primary and secondary data from the DPP office and from woreda administration • The team visited and discuss with affected population partially • Debrief with Woreda DPP department

3.1. Population Data on the displaced community at Guba

No of HH No Name of kebele Male Female Total Remark 1 Jajiya Abelu 67 6 73

No of individuals No Name of kebele Male Female Total Remark 1 Jajiya Abelu 117 104 221

Total

No of lactating No of <5 No Name of kebele No of pregnant women children Remark women

1 Jajiya Abelu - 9 19

3.2. Wombera Woreda IDPS Data/Profile

No of HH No of Individuals No Name of kebele Male Female Total M F T 1 CONG Jemera 78 21 99 241 247 2 Chancho 57 11 68 198 159 3 sanki 249 44 939 490 4 Abech 164 10 902 62 5 and Gensegensa 164 25 538 506 6 Tumi 40 0 60 101 TOTAL 752 111 2878 1565 SUMMARY

▪ There are also about 504 under Five years of Children’s from Six affected Kebles of Wombera Woreda. ▪ Totally there are 863 HHS and 4,443 displaced people from Wombera woreda ▪ The good news is there were no any death from Wombera Woreda except the death of security force during fighting with anti-peace groups at the area.

3.3. Bullen Woreda IDPS Profile

No of HH No of Individuals No Name of kebele Male Female Total M F T 1 Apare 2 Keshegonji 3 mejeb 4 Ayegali 5 6 TOTAL 207 43 250 714 711 1425

▪ Children’s of under 5 age 106 ▪ Lactating women 27 ▪ Pregnant women 9

4. Emergency assistance provided so far in all affected woredas in Metkel Zone

4.1. BY Regional and Woreda government o They provided wheat Floor with 15 K.g with one litter of oil for each HHS o The government provided non-food items including rope, Plastic sheet, Water Jeri cans, Cooking pots, ladle o From Federal Revenue Commission they have provided food and noon food items which have calculated as around 18,000,000 with food and non-food items for affected community as we heard from official government media during we were at the area.

4.2. Contribution from Local Community

▪ Different traditional food Crop ingredients (misir, ater, shiro,berbere etc) provided

5. Health related issues

• According to the information we have got from the Woreda DPP and respective health offices the affected population, there are some ill adults and malnourished children. • The prevalence of COVID 19 automatically increased at the affected areas due to absence of preventive and precaution measures. 6. Impact of the disaster and Executive Summery

• As we heard from regional government official media more than 25,000 HHS has been displaced • Non Calculated amount of assets has been destroyed and damaged • More than 150 individuals have been died still the government didn’t make it official • We have transported more than 100 of injured people to the surrounding health facilities including referral hospitals by Red Cross ambulances. • All highlanders left their all agricultural product’s with fear of losing of life and family • All planted crops are damaged. Which leads to malnutrition and Food security problems in the near future.

7. Critical Humanitarian Gaps in the center we observed during the assessment

▪ General Food distribution ▪ Different traditional food ingredients (misir, ater, shiro,berbere etc) ▪ Nutritional food for Children ▪ PPEs for COVID-19 disease prevention ▪ NFI, Shelter and washing materials ▪ Legal Protection and still people are not guaranteed for peaceful Coexistence because of there is still death of Civilian and innocent agrarian people at the area.

8. Assessment team and Branch recommendation for further humanitarian intervention

According to the assessment team finding, much number of individuals resettled out of their home and settled in a crowded block of their relatives and still became living in a street. Children, women and elders needs more care. As mentioned above different organizations didn’t provide basic relief items such as NFI and food items due to lack of security access. The already distributed relief items did not meet with their priority needs and is not enough. The team recommends that currently Nutritional food for children, serials and different traditional cooking ingredients (misir, ater, shiro,berbere etc) are first priority needs. It’s high risk for COVID-19 transmission at the center. In this regard PPEs and hand washing facilities have to be provided. Full package NFIs and wearing clothes are highly required. ERCS and every concerned GO, NGOs and humanitarian organizations have to be informed and shared the finding for urgent emergency response.

8.1. Urgent priority needs for the displaced and affected Community

1. General Food (serials and traditional cooking ingredients) 2. Full package of NFI 3. COVID-19 prevention activities 4. Cloths and Dignity Materials since once their house has been totally burnt 5. Hygiene and sanitation services 6. Hygiene materials provision 7. Recovery and Resilient building activities in general

9. Challenges the assessment team faced during ERCS BGR conducted the assessment

1. Security access problem almost all Woredas of Metekel was insecure and under the declaration of the Military Lead Command Post. 2. Government secretly and Confidentially holds all information 3. Lack of access to information: We didn’t get the full recorded profile of the IDPS, lost and damaged property information and the magnitude of the risk still due to politics. 4. Lack of access: Due to all of the affected kebles have no road access problem we didn’t get the chance to see and visit the kebeles rather taking the information from Woreda administration and Woreda Disaster Risk management offices at all respective woredas where we did the assessment. 5. Lack of power: The lack of Electric light and Internet at all responding woredas for long time 6. Tight security: There is high security intelligent persons even not to talk with telephone to the HQ responsible departments to get support.