2.3 South Sudanese displaced into neighboring nations: UN

July 9, 2019 – (JUBA) – More than 2.3 million South Sudanese are currently living as refugees in the neighboring countries, while 1.9 million are internally displaced, the United Nations said.

“Today marks the 8th anniversary of South Sudan’s independence, but our colleagues at the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) say that, since then, the country has tragically seen more war than peace and appeals to its leaders to speed up efforts to end what has become Africa’s largest displacement crisis,” Fahan Haq, the deputy spokesman for the UN Secretary-General said Tuesday.

“UNHCR believes it is essential that representatives from the refugee and internally displaced communities are active and meaningful participants in the peace process. These communities’ faith in the reconciliation processes is vital to their success,” he added.

According to Haq, the South Sudan Regional Refugee Response Plan calls for $1.4 billion, of which only 21% has been received.

As South Sudan marked eight years of independence on Tuesday, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) appealed to its leaders to speed efforts to end Africa’s largest displacement crisis.

South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011, but experienced its worst ethnic violence from December 2013, where tens of thousands of people have been killed and millions displaced.

(ST)