Amid the escalating crisis, South Sudan opens a new camp for those fleeing the conflict in the north

South Sudan has opened a new refugee camp in its northern region to receive people fleeing conflicts in neighboring Sudan, a senior official in South Sudan told reporters here on Monday. “South Sudan has received a large number of refugees, so they decided to allocate land for them to settle,” Albino Akol Atak, minister of humanitarian affairs and disaster management, told reporters here on Monday.

Relocation of refugees

Xinhua reported that the government is coordinating with humanitarian partners on the ground to begin moving refugees from a reception center near the border with Sudan to the new refugee camp.

“UN agencies, including the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), are providing shelter to refugees, the World Food Program (WFP) is providing food assistance, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is providing transport to the new camp.”

“According to the South Sudanese minister, South Sudan has received nearly 70,000 people since the conflict broke out in Sudan in April this year, and Akol said the new camp is 5 km by 10 km and could accommodate hundreds of thousands of refugees who can also practice small-scale farming for their livelihoods.”

Extensive work

“UNHCR is also expanding its reach to help people seeking safety in Sudan’s neighboring countries, where the fighting appears set to trigger further displacement both inside and outside the country.”

“So far, the most significant cross-border movements in the region have been Sudanese people fleeing to Chad and South Sudanese refugees returning to South Sudan, while UNHCR has also received reports of tens of thousands fleeing to Egypt.”

“Some of the population movements that we expect to see in the coming days include new Sudanese refugee flows into neighboring countries, the return of refugees hosted by Sudan, and the movement of other refugees hosted by Sudan into other neighboring countries.”

UNHCR is working closely with partners and governments in the region to assess the needs of recent arrivals and develop a joint response.