UN agency stretched as South Sudan refugee crisis deepens

From left: Igad exective secretary Mahmoud Maalim, acting head of South Sudan's delegation Makuei Lueth, Igad envoys Lazarus Sumbeiywo, Seyoum Mesfim and Mohamed Ahmed al-Dabi, head of South Sudan's rebel delegation Taban Deng during a joint press conference in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on January 6, 2014. AFP PHOTO/JACEY FORTIN 

In Summary

• South Sudan, the world’s youngest country, gained independence in 2011 after seceding from Sudan.
• Representatives of Mr Kiir and Dr Machar are meeting in Addis Ababa in talks mediated by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, with an immediate ceasefire at the top of the agenda.

 

 

By Nation Reporter
More by this Author

About 2,500 people are fleeing South Sudan daily to seek refuge in neighbouring Uganda, the UN has said.

As of Wednesday, 23,546 South Sudanese refugees had arrived in Uganda since the conflict erupted a month ago, United Nations refugee agency spokesperson Melissa Fleming said.

“They are now crossing at a rate of up to 2,500 people a day,” Ms Fleming said.

South Sudan, the world’s youngest country, gained independence in 2011 after seceding from Sudan.

Trouble started in the country recently, following a power struggle between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy, Dr Riek Machar, who was dismissed last July.

These new arrivals come at a time when UNHCR’s Uganda office is trying to cope with a continuing influx of refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo. “We still have 8,000 new Congolese arrivals at three reception centres in western Uganda, so our staff and our supplies are stretched,” Ms Fleming said.

Smaller but growing numbers of South Sudanese refugees are also fleeing to other neighbouring countries.

More than 5,300 refugees have been registered in Ethiopia — though the number is likely to be higher as the remote border area is hard to access.

In Kenya’s Kakuma refugee camp, where as many as 300 South Sudanese are now arriving daily, UNHCR staff registered 3,173 new arrivals by Sunday evening.

The situation in Sudan remains less clear. With many groups, including nomads and rebels, active in the area, it is difficult to know exactly how many are refugees, Ms Fleming said.

Representatives of Mr Kiir and Dr Machar are meeting in Addis Ababa in talks mediated by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, with an immediate ceasefire at the top of the agenda.

Inside South Sudan, UNHCR is operating with a reduced staff of 200 people because of fighting and insecurity throughout much of the country, but it continues to supply services to some 230,000 existing refugees at 10 camps in South Sudan.

“We have also been taking on increased responsibilities for the 57,000 civilians taking refuge in 10 UN compounds throughout the country,” Ms Fleming said