‘Every night we only hoped to survive’: Sudanese refugees’ search for safety

Members of a local force charged with the security of the Awlala camp sit on the outskirts of the site. Three refugees who stayed in the camp said the force did not stop local fighters attacking it. Photograph: Michele Spatari/AFP/Getty Images

Abdullah*, a Sudanese English teacher from Khartoum, had never imagined that fleeing one conflict would mean running straight into another.

After escaping his country’s civil war and seeking refuge in Ethiopia, he found himself on the run again after a refugee camp he’d settled in came under attack from bandits and militias fighting Ethiopian government forces.