Thousands flee South Sudan every day in October: UNHCR

Thousands of people fled South Sudan every day in October due to violence, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday.

UNHCR figures show that on average 3,500 South Sudanese fled to Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), Ethiopia and Sudan every day in October.

"In these countries, UNHCR, national authorities and other humanitarian actors are racing to create safe and humane conditions for new arrivals. Nine out of every ten are women and children," the UNHCR said.

Renewed fighting erupted in early July in South Sudan between government troops led by President Salva Kiir and forces loyal to sacked First Vice President Riek Machar, Kiir's long-time rival.

The UNHCR said the violence has seen around 2,400 new arrivals in Uganda every day since the beginning of October and over a quarter of a million new refugees since July 7.

"Most of the arrivals are from the Equatoria regions of South Sudan. They report armed groups harassing civilians, killings and torture of people suspected of supporting opposing factions, burning of villages, sexual assaults of women and girls and forced recruitment of young men and boys," the UNHCR said.

Tens of thousands have died and more than 2.2 million have been displaced since civil war broke out between supporters of Kiir and Machar in December 2013.

According to the UNHCR, the number of people who have fled South Sudan because of the civil war has passed the one million mark.

The UNHCR added that South Sudanese refugees have been increasingly using informal border-crossing points in recent weeks, reportedly due to the presence of armed groups preventing people from using main roads.

Many refugees said they had had to walk through the bush for days, often without food or water, said the UNHCR. Endit