352,000 S. Sudanese refugees in Sudan: statistics

The number of the South Sudanese refugees in Sudan has amounted to 352,000, according to official Sudan government statistics.

"Until now, the number of the South Sudanese who fled to Sudan due to the security situation in their country amounted to 352,000," Ahmed Mohamed Adam, Sudan's Humanitarian Aid Commissioner, said at a press conference in Khartoum on Tuesday.

"These South Sudanese refugees are distributed in 14 Sudanese states, but the majority are in Khartoum state which hosts 142,000 refugees, followed by White Nile state where there are 93,200 refugees," he said.

He added that Sudan is dealing with the South Sudanese refugees as citizens.

"There are presidential directives that these refugees should be treated as citizens and provided with the necessary humanitarian assistance," he said.

Hundreds of thousands of South Sudanese citizens have fled the violence in their country and crossed to the Sudanese border areas.

South Sudan was plunged into violence in December 2013 when fighting erupted between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and defectors led by his former deputy Riek Machar.

The conflict soon turned into an all-out war, with the violence taking on an ethnic dimension.

The clashes have killed thousands of South Sudanese and forced around 1.9 million to flee their homes. Endit