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Over 47,000 S. Sudanese flee to Sudan since January: UN

Xinhua, June 13, 2016 Adjust font size:

More than 47,000 South Sudanese have fled into Sudan's East Darfur in Western region since January, with about 500 households arriving per day until early April, the UN agencies said on Monday.

In a joint humanitarian report, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said new arrivals have since continued at a slower rate, and as of January to June 11, about 47,100 refugees had arrived in East Darfur.

The UN agencies said the influx of South Sudanese refugees is driven by deteriorating food insecurity and ongoing violence in South Sudan.

"Though rates of arrival have slowed in comparison to the January to April period, underlying reasons for displacement remain unchanged," the report says.

A recent food security analysis by World Food Programme (WFP) expects the number of South Sudan's food insecure people to reach 5.3 million between May and September, which would result in the nation's most severe lean season since independence in 2011.

As such, provision of assistance in affected areas of South Sudan will be integral to reducing the number of people who are driven from their homes in search of life-saving assistance in Sudan.

According to the UN, new arrivals are mostly coming from South Sudan's Northern Bahr El Ghazal and Warrap states due to heightened food insecurity and ongoing conflict.

The report says distribution of shelters will begin once families are relocated to a new site, where erection of shelters will be permitted.

"The plot of land previously agreed upon for the new site can no longer be used as local land owners require the area for agricultural activities," the report says.

"This recent influx, with large numbers of South Sudanese refugees arriving in new areas, was not anticipated. This unforeseen emergency is unfolding in an underserviced area where partners and resources are limited," the UN agencies said.

The report says the influx is critically stretching the available resources and operational capacity of partners carrying out the ongoing response in White Nile State, where the flow of new arrivals from South Sudan continues. Additional funds are needed in order to meet the needs of this refugee population. Enditem