Displaced families in Mai Gulit, near Sekota in the Wag-Himra zone of the Amhara region, say they are enduring severe hardship and a lack of basic services.

The families living near the town of Sekota, who were forced to leave various parts of the Oromia region four years ago due to ethnically motivated attacks, are facing severe shortages of food, medicine, and shelter, Deutsche Welle Amharic reported.

Displaced people say they are living in an unfinished shelter made of corrugated metal sheets, exposed to the cold, wind, and rain — conditions they say have caused a range of difficulties, DW reported. They said they and their children have gone without food for days, with little hope of relief. The families, who fled the Gudu Soyo and Alem Seye districts of Wellega four years ago, said they remain in deep distress, forced to beg in a desperate search for food. Around 5,300 displaced people are currently living in the camp, according to DW. One resident said that apart from a small amount of aid provided by the local community, they are receiving nothing from the government. With no work available in the area—not even daily labor—people of all ages, from young to old, are forced to remain idle, another resident told DW.

Meheret Melaku, head of the Wag-Himra Zone Disaster Prevention and Food Security Programme Coordination Office, denied that the displaced people are facing food shortages. “Food aid will continue until their return to their former villages, once security is ensured,” he told DW. “There is no shortage of food,” he said, adding that discussions are underway with partners to address the lack of medicine. He acknowledged accommodation challenges and said the displaced people should go and live within the host community. He said the practice of housing displaced people in camps is no longer a sustainable solution.