UN refugee agency sounds alarm on spike in number of South Sudanese fleeing to Sudan
Xinhua, February 28, 2017 Adjust font size:
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has said that "it has seen a significant increase" in South Sudanese refugees fleeing to Sudan since January, the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General said on Monday.
"Initial expectations were that 60,000 refugees may arrive through 2017, but in the first two months of the year alone, over 31,000 refugees have arrived," said Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, at the daily news briefing.
Initial estimates show that over 80 percent of the new arrivals were women and children, including unaccompanied and separated children, he said.
"They are in need of immediate life-saving assistance, which UNHCR and its sister agencies are trying to address," said Dujarric. Endit