Forced displacement continues to rise on eve of South Sudan's 5th Anniversary: UNHCR

The UN refugee agency UNHCR on Friday said it remained gravely concerned by the continuing violence in parts of South Sudan and the resulting forced displacement both internally and throughout the neighboring region.

As South Sudan marks its fifth anniversary of independence on July 9, UNHCR spokesperson Melissa Fleming said during a press briefing here that the world's youngest nation currently ranks among the countries with the highest level of conflict-induced population displacement globally.

"Nearly one in four of the South Sudan's citizens is displaced within its borders or in neighboring countries, affecting some 2.6 million people against a population that stood at 11.3 million in 2013," she said.

According to the UNHCR, civilians in South Sudan continue to bear the brunt of sporadic clashes, growing food insecurity, and deteriorating economic conditions.

"Agencies report that the number of food insecure people in the country is expected to increase from 4.3 million to 4.8 million in line with seasonal vulnerabilities and the economic crisis," Fleming noted.

She added there were now over 860,000 South Sudanese refugees in neighboring countries, making it the world's fourth largest refugee producing country, and second largest in sub-Saharan Africa after Somalia.

In spite of this, according to the spokeswoman, South Sudan is also host to more than 272,000 refugees from mainly Sudan and some other countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia. Endit