Returnees families station at a school in Manyo County. (Courtesy).

The UN Office of Humanitarian affairs has warned of what it terms as substantial overcrowding at the transit centers in Renk and Malakal counties of Upper Nile State as refugees and returnees continue to arrive from Sudan.

The transit centers are located at different entry points and are required to facilitate flights for the returnees to destinations of their choice in parts of the country.

“As the numbers of arrivals continue to increase, there is substantial overcrowding at the transit centres (TCs) in both Renk and Malakal,” the body said.

According to OCHA crisis report, the rising number of new arrivals poses a challenge, and demands a coordinated and sustained response from local authorities and humanitarian partners.

OCHA said as of 21 January, 516,658 people were recorded crossing the border from Sudan to South Sudan since 15 April 2023.

About 81 per cent of these arrivals are South Sudanese and 18 per cent Sudanese.

41 per cent of 26,444 news arrivals were Sudanese, showing a substantial increase in Sudanese refugee and asylum-seeker entrants recently, OCHA said further.

The agency stated that out of the 22 monitored points of entry, 95 per cent of the arrivals came through Joda in Renk County, Upper Nile State, 2 per cent through the Abyei Administrative area and 1.5 per cent through Raja town, Western Bahr el Ghazal State.

Meanwhile, on 21 January, about 96,544 refugees and asylum-seekers were transported from border locations onwards, according to the humanitarian body.

A week earlier, 83,908 refugees and asylum-seekers were processed and registered with majority of them in Maban, Renk, Juba, Aweil and Jamjang.