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UN agency decries displacement in South Sudan

Xinhua, September 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

The UN migration agency said Tuesday fighting between armed groups in South Sudan is still displacing thousands of people including in areas that had been relatively stable since the crisis broke out in December 2013.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) South Sudan Head of Operations John McCue said more than 80,000 people have been displaced in Wau and 12,000 in Juba alone in the past two months.

"At the same time as we see the needs continue to grow, access constraints are making it more difficult for humanitarians to access vulnerable people or even measure the scale of displacement and unfolding needs as violence spreads to new locations," McCue said in a statement issued in Juba.

He said many of the recent displacements from Central Equatoria have been across the southern borders to Uganda and Kenya, but increased insecurity in parts of Yei, Morobo and Magwi counties is making it increasingly dangerous for civilians to move and may be preventing people from reaching safer areas.

According to IOM, the dynamic nature of the conflict has resulted in the constant movement of civilians as they attempt to escape shifting locations of insecurity.

"Current population movements are fluid in several areas, including Central Equatoria, Eastern Equatoria, Jonglei, Unity, Western Bahr el Ghazal, Western Equatoria and Unity," IOM said.

The UN agency said in southern parts of Central Equatoria, which had previously remained fairly stable, an escalating number of security incidents has pushed large numbers of civilians to leave their homes to seek safety.

IOM said insecurity has forced civilians to seek protection in nearby islands in Leer, Unity, while others have reportedly moved south or reached the UN protection of civilians site in Bentiu.

It warned that these patterns of movement in central Unity may increase as insecurity persists.

More than 1.6 million people are internally displaced across South Sudan, in addition to 786,000 people who have fled to neighbouring countries since December 2013. Endit