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 Statistical Yearbook 2006 - Chapter II: Population Levels and Trends
15 Jan 2008 ... ... Kenya Stateless persons +100,000 Newly included 100,000 Nubians in Kenya who are de facto stateless persons. Nepal Stateless persons +3 million UNHCR adopted the Government estimate of an estimated ...... -
Assistance to refugees, returnees and displaced persons in Africa (covering the period 1 January 2007 to 15 June 2008)
22 Aug 2008 ... ... provided States with technical advice on nationality, related legislation and its application. In Kenya, UNHCR advocated for measures to resolve the situation of Nubians and other stateless groups. ...... -
Decentralized Evaluation of UNHCR's Livelihoods Programme in South Sudan (2016-2018)
Dec 2019 ... ... sense of inclusion, and self-esteem and the transfer of knowledge to others in the Nuba Mountains. ... Refugees from the Nuba Mountains are highly mobile; they regularly move from one location to ...... Attachments: Management response - ES/2019/11 - Decentralised Evaluation of UNHCR's Livelihoods Programme in South Sudan (2016-2018)" (.pdf) -
2018 Donor Impact Report
Mar 2019 ... ... Like Alema, who I met the other day. She has five children and just arrived in Pamir refugee camp from her home in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains. The decision to start the trek towards South Sudan was ...... -
2018 Donor Impact Report - long version
Mar 2019 ... ... Like Alema, who I met the other day. She has five children and just arrived in Pamir refugee camp from her home in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains. The decision to start the trek towards South Sudan was ...... -
The Complexity of Religion in Determining Refugee Status, T. Jeremy Gunn
31 Oct 2002 ... ... on the Animist-Christian population of the Nuba mountains)? 56 Or, what if it is difficult to ... (including the Dinka, Nuer, Beja, Nubians, and other ethnic groups) and either Animist or Christian. ...... -
Mapping of protection services for victims of trafficking and other vulnerable people on the move in the Sahel and East Africa
2 Jul 2021 ... ... The NGO Welthungerwilfe also has a pilot project in Kongroussi (northeast of Ouagadougou) to build Nubian vaults that will accommodate people on the move, and will be transferred to the community once ...... -
The State of the World's Refugees 2012: In Search of Solidarity
31 May 2012 ... ... merly stateless Hill Tamils in Sri Lanka and Nubians in This baby and her parents were among the many Biharis in Bangladesh whose citizenship was confirmed by a 2008 decision of the High Court. ...... -
ES/2022/05 UNHCR Sudan Country Strategy Evaluation
15 Aug 2022 ... ... But this did not include all of the rebel movements, in particular certain factions in both Darfur and the Nuba Mountains; this has contributed to ongoing instability, particularly in those geographic ...... Attachments: Executive Summary, Management Response and Annexes (.zip)