Thousands of people who have arrived in Abyei after escaping the fighting in Unity state say they urgently need more relief supplies. At least 3,000 displaced people are living under trees in Agok.

Many are at Mejak Deng Kayai camp. One woman said there was not enough food, and little shelter to escape the rain, the daytime heat or the night‐time cold, reported the Abyei Today programme.

A man said that there were some quarrels among the displaced over distribution of water supplies. Another woman said children and elderly people were particularly at risk from disease.

Several aid organizations are working in the area. The acting emergency manager for CARITAS, Koul Deng Biong, warned that the displaced are at risk of diseases such as malaria and diarrhoea.

He pointed out that they can seek treatment at a GOAL clinic in Joljuk, an 8km walk away. He added that CARITAS had handed out food and plastic sheets, but there were not enough to go round.

The administrative officer from the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission, Deng Luar, said more help was on the way from the World Food Programme and the ICRC, and GOAL would be digging latrines.

Meanwhile, an MSF doctor Toro Jastat advised people to avoid snakebites by sweeping the area around where they live, using a torch when moving at night, and wearing gumboots. He said people should also sleep off the ground.

Nyanchok Chol, who was bitten by a snake two weeks ago, told Abyei Today that he was bitten recently when accidentally stepped on a snake’s tail.

His neighbours gave him medicine, which proved ineffective, so he was treated in the hospital and recovered.

Another resident of Agok, Bona Malual Mayol Tut, said it was important to wear gumboots when moving at night, and to prod the ground in front of you with a stick. 

Photo: The aid organization GOAL distributes relief items in Abyei, May 2014 (GOAL)