Fleeing hunger, S. Sudanese refugees continue to arrive into Sudan’s Darfur

March 31, 2016 (KHARTOUM) – Tens of thousands of South Sudanese from the greater Bhar el Ghazal region have continued to flee to the neighbouring Sudan due to combined threats of conflict and hunger, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in Sudan, has reported Thursday.

For the last two months, over 48,000 South Sudanese have arrived in East Darfur, South Darfur and West Kordofan states since late January 2016 and are in dire humanitarian situation in the neighbouring country.

“These people are reportedly leaving South Sudan due to food insecurity, as a result of armed conflict, the failure of the agricultural season, the unavailability of food and high prices of cereals in South Sudan,” partly reads the OCHA report in its weekly bulletin.

“The new arrivals are fleeing from South Sudan’s Northern Bahr El Gazal, Eastern Bahr El Gazal and Warrap states,” it further says.

In East Darfur, the report said, 40,468 South Sudanese have arrived in seven locations in the state over the past two months, according to the registration committee in Khor Omer camp, the Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS) and Government’s Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC).

Over 500 desperate and hungry people arrive daily in the Darfur states, the report revealed.

A team from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is currently in Ed Daein town for the verification of the new arrivals in Khor Omer and is training enumerators, including staff from HAC, the SRCS and others.

The majority of South Sudanese arrivals in East Darfur, it said, are in Khor Omer camp in Ed Daein town, the capital of East Darfur state.

“These people are arriving at an average rate of 500 per day, bringing the total number of new arrivals to 25,041 as of 27 March,” it said.

IOM is also expected to start verifying the new arrivals in Khor Omer camp on 29 March. So far, the World Food Programme (WFP) has provided food assistance to about 16,200 new arrivals and food distribution is ongoing for a further 6,420 people who arrived between 9 – 21 March.

Access to water remains a challenge in Khor Omer despite the recent major improvement in water and sanitation services in the camp. However, the African Union – United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) has been trucking in 6,000 litres of water per day since 17 March and plans to continue this for a month.

So far, no shelter materials have been distributed to the newly arrived South Sudanese in Khor Omer. The international NGO United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is currently making arrangements to distribute shelter supplies to 1,000 families. Emergency household supplies have so far been distributed to 700 out of 6,000 families.

In the state of South Darfur, which also faces influx of South Sudanese from the Bahr el Ghazal region, by 26 March, the office of Sudan’s Commissioner for Refugees (COR) had registered an estimated 3,485 new South Sudanese arrivals in Bielel IDP camp.

According to COR, the new arrivals are in need of food, emergency shelter and household supplies, as well as water, health and education assistance.

“So far, no humanitarian assistance has been provided to the new arrivals and they are sheltering with South Sudanese who had been living in the area prior to the recent influx. There are concerns that the host community is overwhelmed by this new influx,” it said.

Also in West Kordofan, another influx of South Sudanese has occurred, although not as many as in the other two states of Darfur. Through an inter-agency mission to El Meriam locality in West Kordofan State during 15 – 18 March, WFP verified 1,559 new arrivals in El Meriam since February, with about 15 – 20 people arriving daily.

However, the number of new South Sudanese arrivals in El Meriam is probably higher as there are reports of new arrivals taking refuge in nearby areas who could not be reached by the inter-agency team.

Also in Kharasana – West Kordofan state, HAC reported about 2,500 new arrivals in the area last week. WFP is currently verifying and distributing food assistance to these new arrivals.

South Sudan has been hit by threats of economic collapse coupled with poor harvest and threats of brewing conflicts as the peace agreement signed in August 2015 has not changed the situation on the ground.

(ST)