More than 32,000 South Sudanese have arrived into the Gambella region of Ethiopia in recent weeks, seeking assistance and protection, according to recent UN assessments.

Ulang County Commissioner Keach Ngouth Tiem, who administers part of the SPLM-IO rebel-held area in Upper Nile State, told Radio Tamazuj yesterday that people are leaving to Ethiopia’s Gambella Region due to recent clashes that happened in September around Nasir between government forces and SPLA-IO forces .

But he downplayed the impact on his county saying not as many people are leaving from there. 

According to the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the new arrivals in Gambella - the majority of whom are women and children - cite fear of renewed fighting in areas of Upper Nile, including Nasir, Maban, Mathiang and Maiwut.

“Refugees also report deepening food insecurity in the areas they have fled,” reads a bulletin released by OCHA on Thursday.

Children account for some 64 per cent of the new arrivals, including 4,972 who have been identified as separated from their families or unaccompanied. Over 80 per cent of the new arrivals originate from Upper Nile.

Photo credit: UNHCR