Local officials in Yei River County of South Sudan's Central Equatoria State say more than 10,000 refugees from Sudan and Congo need humanitarian aid in the county.

Julius Taban, the assistant commissioner for refugee affairs at the Commission for Refugee Affairs in Yei, told Radio Tamazuj on Wednesday that refugees from Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been living in difficult humanitarian conditions since the conflict erupted in the region in 2016.

Taban said the refugees have not received any humanitarian assistance since then.

He appealed to the World Food Program and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in South Sudan to provide urgent humanitarian aid to the refugees.

Separately, Julius called on the government and the rebel National Salvation Front (NAS) to stop fighting and provide protection for refugees and the host community in the region.

He added, "I appeal to the warring parties to negotiate for a real peace so that the locals and refugees in Yei River county can move freely."

Yei River county is home to refugees from Congo and Sudan in camps around Yei, Lasu, and Panyume areas.