Thousands of South Sudanese transiting through Diffra in northern Abyei and adjoining areas of West Kordofan lack adequate food and shelter. Most of them are fleeing from Unity State, where villages have been devastated by targeted attacks since late April this year.
According to the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Diffra has become a transit site for the people fleeing from Unity State, mostly women and children, besides some people from Warrap. They spend a few nights at Diffra before proceeding on toward Muglad, Kharasana, Kadugli or Khartoum.
In its latest regular bulletin from Khartoum, OCHA reported that on 9 July it send an assessment team to Diffra together with the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA). The aid group said it found that hundreds of South Sudanese pass through the village daily without adequate support.
The people arriving in Diffra “are in urgent need of food, water and shelter,” OCHA said. Local resources are being used to assist the newly arrived, but the limited supplies are being severely strained.
According to the local leaders, some 5,000 war-affected South Sudanese have passed through Diffra since the beginning of June 2015. Community leaders have requested the provision of tents, plastic sheets, mosquito nets and food items, and the construction of warehouses for crop storage.
OCHA says it is mobilising some 50 emergency shelter and household item kits, including mosquito nets to send to Diffra. Community leaders in Diffra will manage these supplies.