Thousands flee South Sudan fighting to Democratic Republic of the Congo

News Stories, 4 December 2015

© UNHCR/C. Tijerina
Photo shows other South Sudanese refugees aboard a boat in Ethiopia, November 2014.

GENEVA, Dec 4 (UNHCR) Recent fighting between local armed groups and the South Sudan army in the country's Western Equatoria region has forced over 4,000 people to flee into a remote corner of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the UN Refugee Agency said.

Two UNHCR teams have so far this week registered 3,464 newly arrived refugees in areas near the border in DRC's Dungu Territory, following clashes between the army and an armed group known as the "Arrow Boys."

They also report that 1,206 Congolese refugees, previously in South Sudan, have fled to the same area as a result of the fighting. Ezo settlement in South Sudan, which was originally home to nearly 3,300 Congolese refugees, is now virtually empty, with the remaining refugee families having fled to nearby fields.

Registration of refugees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is ongoing in areas along the border and more arrivals are being reported. UNHCR's nearest office is some 400 kilometres away in Bunia, and it took the teams several days to reach the localities where refugees are.

Ninety per cent of the South Sudanese refugees are women and children. Some had walked for three days, carrying only their most important belongings. Most men have stayed behind in South Sudan.

"While some refugees have been sleeping in the open or in abandoned huts without roofing, most are being sheltered by local families, among them former Sudanese refugees from earlier conflicts," UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards told a press briefing in Geneva.

"Refugees say their most urgent needs are shelter, food and medical care. The nearest hospital is about 80 kilometres away. Further assessments will help determine the support needed. Many say that will not return to South Sudan if there is no peace," he added.

South Sudan's conflict erupted in Juba two years ago this month. It has so far forced 2.3 million people to flee their homes, 650,000 of these across borders as refugees and 1.65 million displaced inside the country.

Most of the refugees are in Ethiopia (226,000), Sudan (198,000), Uganda (172,000) and Kenya (49,000). Even with these conditions, South Sudan continues to host 265,701 refugees from the South Kordofan and Blue Nile areas of neighbouring Sudan.

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South Sudan Crisis: Urgent Appeal

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Southerners on the move before Sudanese vote

Ahead of South Sudan's landmark January 9, 2011 referendum on independence, tens of thousands of southern Sudanese in the North packed their belongings and made the long trek south. UNHCR set up way stations at key points along the route to provide food and shelter to the travellers during their arduous journey. Several reports of rapes and attacks on travellers reinforced the need for these reception centres, where women, children and people living with disabilities can spend the night. UNHCR has made contingency plans in the event of mass displacement after the vote, including the stockpiling of shelter and basic provisions for up to 50,000 people.

Southerners on the move before Sudanese vote

South Sudan: Preparing for Long-Awaited Returns

The signing of a peace agreement between the Sudanese government and the army of the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement on 9 January, 2005, ended 21 years of civil war and signaled a new era for southern Sudan. For some 4.5 million uprooted Sudanese – 500,000 refugees and 4 million internally displaced people – it means a chance to finally return home.

In preparation, UNHCR and partner agencies have undertaken, in various areas of South Sudan, the enormous task of starting to build some basic infrastructure and services which either were destroyed during the war or simply had never existed. Alongside other UN agencies and NGOs, UNHCR is also putting into place a wide range of programmes to help returnees re-establish their lives.

These programs include road construction, the building of schools and health facilities, as well as developing small income generation programmes to promote self-reliance.

South Sudan: Preparing for Long-Awaited Returns

South Sudan: The Long Trip Home

When the peace treaty that ended 21 years of civil war between north and south Sudan was signed in 2005, some 223,000 Sudanese refugees were living in Uganda – the largest group of Sudanese displaced to a neighbouring country.

Despite South Sudan's lack of basic infrastructure, such as schools, hospitals and roads, many Sudanese were eager to go home. In May 2006, the UN refugee agency's Uganda office launched an assisted repatriation programme for Sudanese refugees. The returnees were given a repatriation package, including blankets, sleeping mats, plastic sheets, mosquito nets, water buckets, kitchen sets, jerry cans, soap, seeds and tools, before being transported from the transit centres to their home villages. As of mid-2008, some 60,000 Sudanese living in Uganda had been helped back home.

As of the beginning of May 2008, some 275,000 Sudanese refugees had returned to South Sudan from surrounding countries, including Uganda, Ethiopia, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya. Some 125,000 returned with UNHCR assistance.

Posted on 16 July 2008

South Sudan: The Long Trip Home

South Sudan: A Long Walk in Search of Safety Play video

South Sudan: A Long Walk in Search of Safety

Years of fighting between Sudan and rebel forces have sent more than 240,000 people fleeing to neighbouring South Sudan, a country embroiled in its own conflict. After weeks on foot, Amal Bakith and her five children are settling in at Ajoung Thok refugee camp where they receive food, shelter, access to education and land.
South Sudan: Four Years On from IndependencePlay video

South Sudan: Four Years On from Independence

In 2011 the people of South Sudan celebrated their independence. Four years later, the world's newest nation is one of the world's worst humanitarian situations. In December 2013, conflict erupted displacing 2 million people including more than 600,000 refugees. South Sudanese has fled to Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, and Sudan. The crisis has especially impacted the next generation of South Sudanese, 70% of those displaced are children.
South Sudan Crisis: One Year OnPlay video

South Sudan Crisis: One Year On