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Returnees and refugees boarding the vehicles that will take them from Joda border point, between South Sudan and Sudan, to the Transit Centre in Renk. © Kristen Poels/MSF
More than one million people have poured into South Sudan from war-torn Sudan since April 2023, setting a new record in the ongoing humanitarian and displacement crisis ignited by nearly two years of fighting, UN agencies said.
New data published by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), revealed that the highest influx of more than 770,200 entered through the Joda border point in South Sudan’s Renk County.
Tens of thousands more have crossed through strategic points including Majokyinthiou in Northern Bahr Gazal State, Panakuach in Unity State, and Abyei Amiet in Abyei Administrative Area, the report said.
IOM and UNHCR said the scale of displacement triggered by the Sudan war is not decreasing and highlights the urgent need for more humanitarian support and funding.
According to the agencies, most of the one million arrivals are South Sudanese nationals who had been living in Sudan. Many of them had previously fled South Sudan’s civil war and sought refuge in Sudan.
Meanwhile, thousands of Sudanese nationals displaced by the ongoing violence, along with nationals from other countries residing in Sudan, have also sought safety in South Sudan.
The UN agencies have jointly raised the alarm and expressing grave concern over this new displacement threshold in the crisis.
“The arrival of over a million people into South Sudan is stark and sobering statistic and truly shows the increasing scale of this crisis. Every day more families are still being forced to make the difficult choice to flee the violence in Sudan and seek safety across the border,” said said Sanaa Abdalla Omer, UNHCR South Sudan Deputy Representative.
UNHCR is working with the government and partners to coordinate and deliver critical live-saving support to those arriving as well providing support for the communities hosting them, Ms. Abdalla said.
“The people of South Sudan continue to show extraordinary generosity, welcoming those in need and sharing what little resources they have, but they cannot shoulder this massive the responsibility alone,” she added.
“We urge the international community to step up support and ensure that both displaced families and host communities receive desperately needed support.”
On her part, Said Vijaya Souri, IOM South Sudan Chief of Mission, said the agency is committed to addressing the urgent needs of those who have been forced to flee into South Sudan and stands ready to scale up its response.
The assessment further acknowledged that while local communities in South Sudan continue to show solidarity and welcoming those in need, essential resources remain dangerously stretched.
The conflict between the army under Gen. Al-Burhan and RSF of Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, erupted in April 15, 2023, and has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Fighting continues in several parts of Sudan, with both sides accused of war crimes including the deliberate targeting of civilians, indiscriminate shelling of residential areas and blocking humanitarian aid.
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