28,000 South Sudanese refugees arrive in Sudan during first half of May

It is estimated that over 28,000 South Sudanese refugees arrived in Sudan during the first half of May 2017, according to a report from the UNHCR.

The recent influx of refugees means that a total of 417,000 South Sudanese people have so far been displaced by civil conflict and famine since December 2013.

In the first few months of 2017, almost 137,000 refugees from South Sudan arrived in Sudan, already exceeding the total number of arrivals during 2016.

The most recent influx of refugees to seek shelter and assistance in Sudan are doing so mainly as a result of ongoing hostilities in Kodok in South Sudan’s Upper Nile State.

Over 13,000 refugees are currently in White Nile, and more than 5,000 in South Kordofan. The UNHCR also reported that around 9,000 South Sudanese refugees arrived in the East Darfur and South Darfur states in the first 15 days of May.

Those refugees who arrive in Darfur region are generally from Bahr el-Ghazal and are fleeing hunger and insecurity.

The increase in refugees is putting an additional strain on an already-fragile service provision in camps and settlement sites, prompting the UNHCR and partners to step up efforts to achieve minimum emergency standards as quickly as possible.

Earlier this month, the UNHCR and the World Food Programme launched the Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRRP) for South Sudan, and called on international donors to step up support for people fleeing the country.

Humanitarian agencies are seeking 1.4 billion US dollars by the end of 2017 to provide life-saving aid to 1.8 million South Sudanese refugees in the six neighboring countries, including Sudan, the Sudan Tribune newspaper reported.

According to the Sudan Humanitarian Bulletin of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Sudan, the Sudan portion of the RRRP is less than 10 percent funded.

(CGTN)