UNHCR says conflict in South Sudan uprooted over 1,65,000 people in three months
More than 1,65,000 people have fled increasing tensions and conflict in South Sudan in the past three months to seek safety both within the country and borders
- JUBA — More than 1,65,000 people have fled increasing tensions and
conflict in South Sudan in the past three months to seek safety both within the
country and across borders, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) said.
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- "South Sudan cannot afford yet another crisis. The
world's youngest country has received more than one million people who fled the
ongoing war in Sudan, while millions of its citizens continue to recover from
years of conflict and crisis at home," Mamadou Dian Balde, UNHCR's
Regional Director for the East, Horn of Africa and Great Lakes region, said in
a statement on Tuesday.
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- Political instability and rising hostilities since late
February between armed groups have led to fresh clashes, particularly in Upper
Nile state, but also other hot spots, devastating lives and damaging essential
services.
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- The UN agency said that some 100,000 people seeking
safety in the neighbouring countries, such as the Democratic Republic of the
Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda, cited insecurity, intercommunal
violence and deteriorating humanitarian conditions as the main reasons for
flight.
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- According to the UNHCR, humanitarian access to an
estimated 65,000 newly internally displaced people in affected communities
remains significantly constrained due to fighting and movement restrictions in
Upper Nile state and other areas.
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- Desperately needed aid, including medicine and healthcare
to tackle an increase in cholera cases, has come to a halt, it said, noting
that looming rains are likely to exacerbate the situation, with flooding making
transport problematic and expensive, Xinhua news agency reported.
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- The UNHCR said it requires $36 million to support up to
343,000 internally displaced people in South Sudan and refugees arriving in neighboring
countries over the next six months.
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- "We reiterate calls for an immediate cessation of
hostilities and urge all parties to spare civilians more suffering and find a
peaceful solution," Balde stressed.
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- South Sudan remains one of the largest displacement
crises in the region, with more than 2.3 million South Sudanese living as
refugees in the DRC, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Sudan, the UNHCR said.
