• Text size Normal size text | Increase text size by 10% | Increase text size by 20% | Increase text size by 30%
  • Also available in French

New LRA attacks trigger more displacement in Southern Sudan

Briefing Notes, 21 August 2009

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 21 August 2009, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

Thousands of civilians have fled the fresh attacks by the Ugandan rebel group, so called "Lord's Resistance Army" (LRA) in Sudan's remote Western Equatoria region. On 12 August, the LRA carried out a series of attacks in Ezo district near the Sudanese border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), reportedly killing two people and injuring three others. They also abducted ten girls from a local church, pillaged and torched homes and stole food.

The next day, the rebel group struck again at Bereamburu village, some 35 kilometres from Yambio, the regional capital, burning the local church and a health centre and looting medical supplies.

On 13 August, as a result of the intensifying LRA attacks, the UN was forced to suspend all humanitarian activities in the area and 29 humanitarian workers, including seven UNHCR staff, were evacuated by helicopter from Ezo to Yambio.

The LRA attacks have triggered widespread panic and fear in the region where South Sudan borders the DRC and the Central African Republic (CAR). Many of those on the run are refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs), who were already forced to flee the earlier LRA incursions. Local authorities say some 5,000 IDPs from Ezo and the nearby areas have now arrived in Yambio and the surrounding villages, some 160 km south-east of the conflict-hit areas.

UNHCR condemns the continued LRA attacks on civilian population and is deeply concerned about the fate of the large number of refugees and IDPs caught in the latest attacks in several villages along the borders of the three countries. There are some 3,500 refugees from the DRC and CAR and an estimated 25,000 IDPs in Ezo and neighbouring districts. These people are now without protection or assistance.

Since October 2008, the LRA, blamed for numerous attacks and widespread atrocities, has extended its deadly reach into the DRC, Sudan and the CAR, terrorizing the civilian population and causing chaos and mayhem. Some 360,000 Congolese have been uprooted in successive LRA attacks in the Orientale province in north-eastern DRC, while, while some 20,000 others have fled to neighbouring Sudan and the CAR, according to UN estimates.

• DONATE NOW • • GET INVOLVED • • STAY INFORMED •

 

Related stories by:

UNHCR country pages

A Time Between: Moving on from Internal Displacement in Uganda

This document examines the situation of IDPs in Acholiland in northern Uganda, through the stories of individuals who have lived through conflict and displacement.

Internally Displaced People

The internally displaced seek safety in other parts of their country, where they need help.

Related Internet Links

UNHCR is not responsible for the content and availability of external internet sites

Battling the Elements in Chad

More than 180,000 Sudanese refugees have fled violence in Sudan's Darfur region, crossing the border to the remote desert of eastern Chad.

It is one of the most inhospitable environments UNHCR has ever had to work in. Vast distances, extremely poor road conditions, scorching daytime temperatures, sandstorms, the scarcity of vegetation and firewood, and severe shortages of drinkable water have been major challenges since the beginning of the operation. Now, heavy seasonal rains are falling, cutting off the few usable roads, flooding areas where refugees had set up makeshift shelters, and delaying the delivery of relief supplies.

Despite the enormous environmental challenges, UNHCR has so far managed to establish nine camps and relocate the vast majority of the refugees who are willing to move from the volatile border.

Battling the Elements in Chad

Southerners on the move before Sudanese vote

Ahead of South Sudan's landmark January 9, 2011 referendum on independence, tens of thousands of southern Sudanese in the North packed their belongings and made the long trek south. UNHCR set up way stations at key points along the route to provide food and shelter to the travellers during their arduous journey. Several reports of rapes and attacks on travellers reinforced the need for these reception centres, where women, children and people living with disabilities can spend the night. UNHCR has made contingency plans in the event of mass displacement after the vote, including the stockpiling of shelter and basic provisions for up to 50,000 people.

Southerners on the move before Sudanese vote

Chad: Relocation from the Border to Refugee Camps

Since fighting broke out in Sudan's western region of Darfur last year, more than 110,000 Sudanese refugees have fled into Chad. They are scattered along a 600-km stretch of desert borderland under a scorching sun during the day and freezing temperatures during the night.

Access to these refugees in this inhospitable region is difficult. Staff of the UN refugee agency drive for days to locate them. Bombing in the border zone and cross-border raids by militia from Sudan put the refugees at risk and underscore the urgent need to move them to camps in the interior. In addition, the approach of the rainy season in May will make the sandy roads impassable. Aid workers are racing against time in an attempt bring emergency relief to these refugees.

Chad: Relocation from the Border to Refugee Camps

Sudan: A Perilous RoutePlay video

Sudan: A Perilous Route

Kassala camp in eastern Sudan provides shelter to thousands of refugees from Eritrea. Many of them pass through the hands of ruthless and dangerous smugglers.
Sudan: Heading for a New HomePlay video

Sudan: Heading for a New Home

UNHCR is offering to help move hundreds of people from Sudan to newly independent South Sudan, where they will build new lives. Almost 250 families with ties to the south are waiting for a ride.
South Sudan: Blue Nile RefugeesPlay video

South Sudan: Blue Nile Refugees

Refugees are streaming in from Sudan's Blue Nile Region into South Sudan, many to Doro Camp.