Violence in South Sudan sparks refugee upsurge: UNHCR

A total of 37,890 South Sudanese have been forced to flee their homes and seek refuge in neighboring Uganda since fighting between warring groups broke out on July 8, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported Tuesday.

"To put this into context, in the past three weeks there have been more refugee arrivals in Uganda than in the entire first six months of 2016," the agency said in a statement.

Most of those arriving are coming from South Sudan's Eastern Equatoria region, Juba and other areas.

Newly arrived refugees in Uganda have reported ongoing fighting between factions loyal to South Sudan's President Salva Kiir and his rival Riek Machar, as well as looting by militias, the destruction of civilian infrastructure and indiscriminate attacks on civilians.

"Some of the women and children told us they were separated from their husbands or fathers by armed groups, who are reportedly forcibly recruiting men into their ranks and preventing from crossing the border," UNHCR reported.

Many transit and reception centers in Uganda are strained as a result of the upsurge of arrivals.

Since the conflict in the African nation began in December 2013, some 1.69 million people have been internally displaced by protracted fighting.

A further 831,000 South Sundanese civilians have been forced to seek refugee in other countries, mainly in Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda. Endite