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YIDA - 23 Apr 2013

‘Severe water crisis’ at Yida camp

Reports from Yida refugee camp in South Sudan’s Unity state indicate that residents are suffering from a severe water crisis, prompting the refugees to call for an urgent solution.

A number of the residents told Radio Tamazuj yesterday from the camp that people have run out of drinking water while others searched for a full day in order to find some.

Urging camp authorities to improve and expand the number of water sources, they also requested procurement of further water storage facilities and safe water kits.

Claiming that there is a borehole nearby, one refugee who spoke to Radio Tamazuj reported that the local community have refused to share it with the refugees.

“These days there is a problem of water. There is no water, these days we go to the place of water at 11 pm, then we sleep there. We came here yesterday and slept here and up to now but we still didn’t get water. Sometimes when parents bring their children, the children get lost on the way…There is a big water hand pump nearby but the local people here refuse, (saying) that they don’t want refugees to take water from there,” explained one of the camp residents.

Camp authorities, the UN and the government have so far tried in vain to convince the majority of residents at Yida to move to another camp within the state, because of concerns over its close proximity to the Sudanese border.

Most of the Yida residents have fled from South Kordofan state after war broke out there in 2011 between the Sudanese government and rebel group, the SPLA-North.

Photos from Yida camp (Radio Tamazuj)

Related: Yida refugees still refuse move to new camp (21 February 2013)