ADDIS ABABA, May 17 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian government on Friday disclosed that more than 97,000 Internally Displaced People (IDP) were repatriated to their homes over the past few weeks amid improving security situations along ethnic conflict-hit areas in western Ethiopia.
The IDPs who were said to be victims of recurrent communal violence in Ethiopia's Gedeo and West Guji zones along the borders of Ethiopia's largest Oromia region and Southern region, were repatriated to their homes as part of an ongoing nationwide repatriation effort, state-run Ethiopian News Agency quoted Gedeo Zone Disaster and Risk Management Office officials as saying on Friday.
According to local government officials, some 16 camps have been closed over the past few weeks following the voluntary return of 97,000 people in the area.
The nationwide repatriation efforts began last month as part of a strategic plan that aimed to address internal displacement across the country.
On Thursday, the Ethiopian government also disclosed that some 45 IDP-hosting camps that have been hosting internally displaced people were closed in Benishangul Gumuz region.
According to figures from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affair (UNOCHA), there are close to 2.4 million internally displaced people in Ethiopia, many of whom left their homes due to recurrent conflicts.
