Fresh fighting over past month forces 3,000 to flee Sudan's Nuba Mountains
Refugees, mainly from Um Dorrein, Heiban and Delami counties, also cited the lack of livelihood opportunities and education in their home areas as reasons for leaving.
GENEVA, January 30 (UNHCR) - The UN refugee agency on Friday reported that fresh fighting in Sudan's Nuba Mountains has led to an increase in the number of people fleeing to South Sudan in the past month.
UNHCR field staff said that more than 3,000 Sudan citizens from South Kordofan and Blue Nile states have arrived since December 23 at the border town of Yida, a spontaneous settlement in South Sudan's Unity state already sheltering some 80,000 Sudanese refugees.
"With arrival rates exceeding 500 people per week, this represents an increase of more than 100 per cent compared to the same period of 2013," UNHCR spokesman William Spindler told journalists in Geneva.
Refugees, mainly from Um Dorrein, Heiban and Delami counties, told UNHCR that they had escaped conflict and widespread violence in the Nuba Mountains region, including air and ground attacks. Refugees have also cited the lack of livelihood opportunities and education in their areas of origin as reasons for leaving.
"The majority arrived in trucks while others came on foot," Spindler said. "Nearly 70 per cent of new arrivals are children, and an estimated 10 per cent suffer from malnutrition and measles. Refugees reported that many more Sudanese are on their way to South Sudan, but we are not in a position to confirm this information," he added.
At the transit centre in Yida, UNHCR and its partners provide assistance to the new arrivals, including hot meals. Refugees are medically screened and receive a measles vaccination upon arrival. UNHCR undertakes biometric registration of new arrivals to ensure that refugees can be identified quickly and are able to access assistance.
To date, more than 80 per cent of new arrivals have been transported from Yida to Ajuong Thok, a camp established in March 2013 to ease overcrowding in the Yida settlement. The remaining 20 per cent have decided to settle in Yida as they have family in the settlement. In Ajuong Thok, all refugees undergo further medical screening and all children under 15 years old are vaccinated against measles.
With 18,000 Sudanese refugees living in Ajuong Thok, the camp has almost reached its full capacity of 25,000 people and UNHCR is concerned that current funding may be inadequate to meet the needs of additional refugees.
Spindler said UNHCR was working with the government of South Sudan to identify a site to set up a new camp in Unity state in preparation for any more arrivals. South Sudan hosts nearly 250,000 refugees, mostly from Sudan, and more than 1.8 million internally displaced people.
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UNHCR Global Appeal 2005 - East and Horn of Africa Regional Overview
1 Dec 2004 ... Development (IGAD), resulted in the signing in Naivasha, Kenya of important protocols which cover the Southern Blue Nile and Nuba mountain regions: the con- tested areas of Abyei; and power-sharing. ...... -
UNHCR staff receives award for helping Colombia's forgotten people
17 Mar 2004 ... are grateful for the work done by UNHCR and especially by Aldo Morales, who are truly working on behalf of the displaced population in this Department," said Nariño's acting governor, Nubia Quintero. ...... -
Sudanese villagers face tough choices before fleeing to relative safety in Yida
9 Oct 2012 ... flee South Kordofan to escape attacks on villages and towns across the border in the Nuba Mountains. ... We have never gone back." Amuna and her family fled up into the Nuba Mountains, where they lived in ...... -
UNHCR identifies south Sudan office site, plans to visit recent arrivals
17 Mar 2004 ... Peace talks now going on in the Kenyan town of Naivasha have already reached agreement on wealth-sharing, and now are focusing on the status of three disputed areas - Blue Nile, Abeyei and the Nuba ...... -
eBay founder donates US$500,000 for UNHCR's South Sudan operation
5 Sep 2012 ... compelled to act "at a humanitarian level" by the displacement crisis over the past year in the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile regions. "Our donation to UNHCR is intended to provide urgent assistance ...... -
Return and Reintegration of Sudanese Refugees to Southern Sudan, Revised Supplementary Appeal, January 2004 - December 2005
12 Jul 2004 ... in Naivaisha, covering the “contested” areas of (i) Abyei, (ii) Southern Blue Nile and Nuba mountains and (iii) power sharing, the parties have entered the final phase of the peace process. ...... -
UNHCR Global Appeal 2010-2011 - Kenya
1 Dec 2009 ... UNHCR will continue to work with several partners to implement protection policies through the government-led protection working group. Several communities, including Nubians and the Galjeel, are ...... -
Acting High Commissioner in Sudan
19 Apr 2005 ... The January signing of a peace deal ending the civil war has paved the way for both refugees and displaced people to go back to their homes. Women from the southern Nuba Mountains - who have been ...... -
Ethiopia: UNHCR able to visit Fugnido camp again
10 Jan 2003 ... They are mainly Shuluks, Nubas and Equatorians, a minority group in the camp who have been anxious about their safety and had asked to be moved elsewhere. Fugnido is home to more than 28,700 refugees ......