Tribal clashes in Jonglei, South Sudan, force thousands flee into Ethiopia

March 14, 2012 (ADDIS ABABA) – Thousands of members of the Lou Nuer ethinc group from South Sudan have fled across the border into Ethiopia as ethnic tensions in Jonglei state increase, the Ethiopian UN refugee agency (UNHCR) branch office said.

The Murle and Lou Nuer tribes in Jonglei state have been engaged in deadly attacks and reprisal attacks over cattle, grazing lands and water rights further leading to cattle raids and abduction of women and children, forcing tens of thousands of civilians to become displaced.

Many of the recent arrivals say they were displaced for weeks in Jonglei before they managed to arrive in Ethiopia.

Following the recent waves of fighting between the two tribes, an estimated 15,000 people have entered Ethiopia since mid-February. Most are women, children and elderly people who fled from Akobo county.

“UNHCR undertook two joint missions with Ethiopia’s Agency for Refugees and Returnees Affairs (ARRA) and other partners to the border area, which estimated some 200 arrivals per day” UNHCR Public information officer, Natalia Prokopchuk, told Sudan Tribune.

Fresh fighting between the two tribes was reported 9 March in Akobo county.

Prokopchuk said UNHCR is concerned at the possibility of further forced displacement as the inter-communal violence continues. So far UNHCR jointly with ARRA continues monitoring developments on the Ethiopian side.

UNHCR has pre-positioned sufficient number of family tents and other core relief items to meet possible shelter and other needs of asylum seekers once they are transferred to Fugnido refugee camp which has a capacity to accommodate up to 40,000 people. Also, an additional site can be prepared if need arises.

New arrivals screened and registered in Fugnido refugee camp so far are only Lou Nuer, Prokopchuk said.

“Our joint field missions with the Government and other partners got no indications about Murle tribes arriving to Ethiopia,” said Prokopchuk.

UNHCR is helping the Ethiopian authorities to set up a reception centre
near the border town of Matar in western Ethiopia’s, Gambella region, where the new arrivals are being screened by ARRA, before they are relocated to Fugnido refugee camp near the border area.

So far some 1,300 new arrivals have been transferred to the camp, where they are registered as asylum-seekers. Once registered in the camp, asylum-seekers are issued with food ration cards.

UNHCR also provides them with essential non-food items like kitchen sets, blankets, sleeping mats, jerry cans and other needs.

The local communities in Matar have been sharing their meager resources with the new arrivals, including food and water. The influx has stretched water and sanitation facilities beyond capacity. The World Food Programme is extending food distribution to this area to benefit both communities.

The UN refugee agency has also dispatched additional staff to support the government’s registration efforts in Fugnido.

The UN refugee agency said clashes between the two rival tribes in December and January alone have affected at least 120,000 people in Jonglei state.

In a bid to reduce the bloodshed, the president of South Sudan, Salva Kiir, inaugurated a disarmament programme in Jonglei on Monday.

(ST)