Sudan’s southern White Nile State witnessed a huge influx of refugees in a single week, following rebel shelling of Renk in neighboring South Sudan and a South Sudanese government offensive to take Wadakona.
According to a humanitarian bulletin published by the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sudan, nearly 5,000 South Sudanese refugees arrived in one week, fleeing violence.
“UNHCR reports that 126,814 refugees had arrived in Sudan, as of 13 March. There has recently been a large influx of refugees into White Nile State. Since 8 March, about 4,000 South Sudanese refugees arrived in the state from South Sudan’s Upper Nile State, with a further 900 people arriving in South Kordofan,” reads the report.
According to UNHCR, the majority of the new arrivals are women and children who are in “desperate need of humanitarian assistance,” including water, food, health, and shelter.
The UNHCR said that it is concerned that more refugees will cross into Sudan as fighting in South Sudan moves closer to the border with Sudan.
File photo