Nyeel refugee camp in Unity State to close due to flooding

August 14, 2013 (JUBA) – The United Nations Office for the Coordination of humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) has announced that Nyeel refugee camp in Unity state will close by the end of this month and its more than 1,000 residents relocated to Ajuong Thok refugee camp.

‘‘The relocation is expected to be completed by 23 August. Refugees in Nyeel had repeatedly expressed their desire to move to Ajoung Thok due to regular flooding in their current location,’’ says OCHA in its weekly humanitarian bulletin on South Sudan for the period between 5-11 August 2013.

The closure of the camp will not affect access by host communities to existing facilities at Nyeel.

‘‘Despite the closure of the camp, aid organizations will maintain support to the clinic and education centers in Nyeel until they are integrated into the government structures by the end of the year,’’ reports the bulletin.

Host communities at the refugee camps will also continue to benefit from facilities such as safe drinking water from the boreholes with relief items such as jerry cans, mosquito nets and blankets being distributed to them.

The report also says that an assessment by a team from aid organisations in Gumuruk in Jonglie state found that 19,000 people are in need of assistance following clashes in the area on 29 July.

During the period covered by the report, more than 100 vulnerable people including children and the elderly who had been living in Khartoum before travelling to Renk returned to South Sudan.

The group was airlifted from Renk to Juba and are currently in Aweil waiting for further reintegration support.

(ST)