By Staff Writer
As the Sudan conflict worsens, at least 169,069 people in devastating situation, from 38,697 households have arrived South Sudan since the beginning of the crisis in mid-April.
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) provided the latest updates on behalf of the Inter-Agency actors of the Emergency Response to the Sudan Crisis and the Humanitarian Country Team.
According to OCHA, the crisis in Sudan continues to devastate civilian populations and the situation continues to worsen.
The number of arrivals is projected to continue increasing as the conflict in Sudan continues.
“Women and children are increasingly arriving malnourished and requiring immediate lifesaving nutrition assistance” it noted.
About 91 percent of the arrivals are South Sudanese returnees, 6.6 percent are Sudanese, and 2.3 percent are of other nationalities.
UN said over 19,000 refugees and asylum-seekers have entered South Sudan.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian coordination office evacuation flights in Upper Nile, Unity, Western Bahr al Ghazal, and Northern Bahr al Ghazal States, and Abyei Administrative Area are ongoing.
The evacuation of the refugees and returnees is organised by government of South Sudan with support from partners.
The agency said the Emergency Response Plan for the Sudan Crisis is being revised until the end of December 2023.
In light of an analysis of the dynamics in Sudan, OCHA projects an additional 650,000 South Sudanese returnees and 20,000 refugees and asylum-seekers could arrive by the end of December.
“If added, brings the projected total number of returnees to 830,000 and refugees and asylum-seekers to 80,000, including 10,000 third-country nationals since May 2023” the agency noted.
Humanitarian agencies said poor road and terrain conditions in the rainy season and unpredictable security situations together with shortage of funding to sustain operations remain key challenges.
Last week the Arab Republic of Egypt hosted the Sudan Neighbors Summit in search of an end to the Sudan conflict.
The summit in Cairo seeks to set effective framework to peacefully settle the Sudan crisis in coordination with other regional and international tracks.
During the summit, President Salva Kiir warned against foreign intervention in the Sudanese war.
He said any solution to the crisis should respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sudan.
“Our priorities include finding African solutions to the continent’s crises,” Kiir said.
This summit came against the backdrop of several ceasefires brokered by the United States of America and Saudi Arabia that have failed, as fighting spread to other major towns in Sudan.
The armed conflict ensued between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) under Gen. al Burkan and his deputy turned rival, Gen. Dagalo who commands the strong paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF).
Since the conflict began on April 15 over 3 million people have been displaced by the conflict, according to the United Nations.