Migration and refugee situation (per 5 November)

  • 38 people were rescued from a rubber boat in the sea near Breskens, southern coast of the Netherlands, on the morning of 31 October. 36 of them were Afghan refugees, while the other two were Sudanese nationals who are believed to be human smugglers.
  • More than 65,000 refugees are currently displaced in Yemen, where the humanitarian crisis is worsening at an alarming rate, warns the UNHCR. The situation is particularly severe at the Kharaz refugee camp, which is currently hosting around 9,500 refugees from Somalia and Ethiopia.
  • Renewed hostilities in northern Ethiopia have led to increased displacement across Tigray and Amhara, forcing people who had recently returned to areas such as Tahtay Adiyabo to flee again. Blockades along vital transport routes are preventing humanitarian agencies from delivering aid.
  • The European Commission aims to expand the mandate of Frontex, the EU border agency, to create a centralized authority responsible for executing and coordinating migrant deportations.
  • The plan would also expand the agency’s border force and enable it to deploy a rapid-response team within 24 hours to help member states manage emerging crises.
  • Aerial surveillance by Frontex enabled Libyan and Tunisian forces to intercept and return at least 33,000 migrants and refugees in the Central Mediterranean between 2018 and 2024, according to an investigation by the EU-funded Liminal project.
  • The report states that “aerial surveillance has become a key component of  the EU’s strategy to prevent migrants from reaching Europe by boat and to return them with impunity to violence and abuse in Libya and Tunisia”.
  • Germany, Austria, Denmark, Greece, and the Netherlands are negotiating to establish a main “return hub” in Kigali, Rwanda, to host rejected asylum seekers before deporting them to their countries of origin. This proposal will be further discussed at a meeting in Vienna on 16 November.
  • 2026 has been characterised as the most violent year in a decade for both migrants and sea rescuers in the central Mediterranean, according to Sea-Watch. The organisation documented a total of 26 violent incidents perpetrated by the Libyan coastguard against migrants and European nationals.

Situation in Ethiopia (per 5 November)

  • The Ethiopian Media Authority indefinitely suspended the registration certificate of Media and Communication Center PLC, the publisher behind The Reporter, Ethiopia’s oldest independent print and online news outlet, starting from 2 November.
  • The Authority alleges repeated breaches of legal and professional standards but has not identified specific reports or explained which provisions were violated.
  • The suspension was condemned by Human Rights Watch stating “ the action is part of the government’s ongoing assault on the media and civic space in the country and points toward increasing use of vague claims about “national interests” to shut down any critical reporting”.
  • Conflict erupted between the TPLF forces and joint ENDF and Tigray Peace Forces (TPF) in Bizet Woreda, Eastern Tigray on 2 November. After the battle, the leaders of the Army 15 of TPLF forces surrendered.
  • A senior TPLF commander of the Army 92 unit, Col. Semere Teklu, is reported to have been killed during the battle in Bizet Woreda, while two other high-ranking TPLF officers were captured.
  • Flyers urging young people to join the TPLF Forces and support its operations were posted in different locations in Mekelle, according to local sources.
  • Local residents selected the remaining administrators under the caretaker regional administration in Aksum town and Abiy Adi, Central Tigray zone, and in Shire, Northwestern Tigray zone.
  • Renewed fighting and drone attacks in Tigray are pushing northern Ethiopia’s already fragile healthcare system to collapse, warned Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the General Director of the World Health Organization (WHO), condemning the recent attacks on civilians and health facilities.

Situation in Sudan (per 5 November)

  • Two people were killed and ten more were injured in a Sudanese Armed Forces’ (SAF) airstrike on a water source in the Um Badr area of North Kordofan state, on 4 November.
  • The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a drone attack on Ed Damazin, the capital of the Blue Nile region, between 3 and 4 November, targeting military infrastructure and civilian properties.
  • Brigadier General Haroun Mersal, a senior commander of the Sudan’s Joint Force, an allied force of the SAF, was killed on 3 November in the Kordofan region, after renewed clashes with the RSF .
  • Dozens of professionals, including medical personnel and professors, have been detained by the RSF across several facilities in El Geneina, West Darfur, according to the Sudan Doctors Network.
  • Thousands of unvaccinated children in Darfur are contracting preventable diseases such as measles and whooping cough, warns Doctors Without Borders.
  • Bread prices in Khartoum have doubled in a week due to rising wheat and fuel costs, flour shortages and the weakening Sudanese pound.

Regional and international situation (per 5 November)

  • Ethiopia and Sudan closed each other’s consulates near their common border and expelled their diplomats on 4 November. The Sudan government accuses Ethiopia of supporting the RSF, while Ethiopia alleges that Sudan is backing fighters in the Tigray region.
  • Ethiopia first closed the Sudanese consulate in Asosa, Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State, and ordered six staff members to leave the country within 48 hours. This was reciprocated by Sudan which ordered the Ethiopian consulate in Gedaref to be closed.
  • Sudan proposed to establish a “free economic zone” on the Red Sea coast for Russian logistical and storage facilities, during the Russia-Africa Summit.
  • Bentiu and Malakal camps for displaced people have been left without clean water, sanitation and healthcare due to funding cuts, affecting more than 150,000 people, reports Médecins Sans Frontières.

Links of interest
Rubber boat with dozens of migrants pulled from the sea near Breskens
Refugees in Yemen trapped between conflict, displacement and dangerous journeys
News: Renewed fighting in Ethiopia forces families to flee again in Tigray, displaces thousands in Amhara
With “return” as the watchword, the Commission wants to give Frontex more power over repatriations
Aerial Bordering: The Role of Frontex’s Aerial Surveillance in the  Central Mediterranean Pushback Machine
Mediterranean: Sea-Watch brands 2026 most violent year in a decade for migrants and sea rescuers
News Alert: Authority suspends registration of Ethiopia’s oldest independent newspaper indefinitely
Ethiopian Authorities Suspend Independent Newspaper
Conflict in Ethiopia
Ethiopia’s Tigray rebels claim to have inflicted heavy losses on army
Ethiopian forces kill Tigray rebel commander, capture 2 others: Activist
Ethiopia: Violence in the north is pushing health system to the brink, WHO chief warns
Two women killed in Sudanese army airstrike on North Kordofan water source
RSF attacks Ed Damazin with swarm of explosive drones
Joint force commander killed as clashes renew in Sudan’s Kordofan region
RSF detains dozens of medical and academic staff in West Darfur
Routine immunisation must be restored in Darfur
#Daily_Brief: Bread prices double in #Khartoum as #Sudan’s food crisis deepens
Ethiopia and Sudan close each other’s consulates after allegations of meddling in civil war
Sudan proposes Red Sea free economic zone to Russia during Moscow talks

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