Dozens of people are said to have arrived in Raja county in Western Bahr el-Ghazal state yesterday after fleeing insecurity in the areas of Ferga and Sira-Malaga on the border with South Darfur following troop build-up there.
The group, said to be composed of 59 displaced South Sudanese and refugees from Sudan arrived in South Sudan’s Raja County seeking food and services after the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) reportedly began deploying troops nearby.
Matthew Arkangelo, the resettlement commission office volunteer, told Radio Tamazuj from Raja that the group is receiving no humanitarian assistance and that they lack shelter, food and drugs. Given that Raja town is also currently suffering from shortages, they are residing on the outskirts of the town.
He added that some of the IDPs are part of a group who have previously fled areas along the border with Darfur due to tension.
The volunteer further explained that local people are willing to help the displaced but they lack the means to offer them essential services such as healthcare, education and water.
“These people came inside the town here and we have nothing to give them as we don’t have anything that we can assist them with like tents or plastic sheets. We are going to report the issue to the authorities in charge, but what we will give them is the land for them to settle,” Arkanelo explained.
Sudan and South Sudan signed an agreement last September to demilitarise a buffer zone along the disputed border but neither side has implemented this.
Both sides are reported to have built-up troop numbers along the border this week. Meanwhile, sources in Khartoum linked to SAF have claimed that negotiations will not resume next Thursday in Addis Ababa, as expected.