Intensifying violence in Sudan has forced over 80,000 people to flee to South Sudan in less than three weeks, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). The displaced, primarily women and children, are escaping escalating conflict in Sudan’s White Nile, Sennar, and Blue Nile states.
Nyarob, a South Sudanese returnee, shared her ordeal: “The situation was not safe at all. When the army entered, there were gunshots, and a lot of chaos occurred. I immediately took my children and walked to the Joda border with others because we needed a safe place for our children.”
At the Joda border and in nearby villages, resources are stretched to breaking point. The displaced are living in makeshift shelters, with malnutrition rates surpassing emergency levels. Clean water and sanitation facilities are in critically short supply, heightening the risk of disease outbreaks.
Silva Alkebeh, UNHCR’s Chief of Supply Logistics, described the dire situation: “This place two weeks ago was almost empty. We built the reception centre to accommodate a few hundred people. Currently, we have over 5,000 refugees and returnees staying at the border and many along the roadside. People are sharing very limited resources.”
Despite efforts to ramp up humanitarian assistance, the response remains gravely underfunded. UNHCR has warned that without immediate additional resources, the provision of life-saving aid for the displaced and host communities will fall short of what is desperately needed.
