More than 2000 people have recently arrived at Kakuma camp after fleeing fighting and economic problems in Sudan and South Sudan
NAIROBI (AlertNet) – Increasing numbers of Sudanese and South Sudanese are fleeing to Kenya due to fighting and economic crisis, according to the United Nations.
Some 230 refugees are arriving at Kenya’s Kakuma refugee camp, near the South Sudanese border, each week.
The majority of newly arrived asylum seekers fled from South Kordofan in Sudan and Jonglei State in South Sudan, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a regional update.
“Given the ongoing violence in both regions, as well as the shrinking of protection space in South Sudan due to attacks in border areas and a rapidly worsening economic crisis, UNHCR (the U.N. refugee agency) expects the increased arrival rate from Sudan and South Sudan to continue.”
So far this year, 1,823 new arrivals have been registered at Kakuma, with hundreds more awaiting registration or staying with relatives in the camp.
U.N. RETURNS TO SOUTH KORDOFAN
There are fears of widespread hunger in Sudan’s South Kordofan where fighting between the government and rebels has disrupted farming and restricted aid.
Sudan has only allowed U.N. agencies and aid groups to keep small teams of local staff on the ground since the conflict erupted in June and has prevented aid workers visiting certain areas, citing security concerns.
On Friday, the government allowed a limited number of international U.N. staff to return to South Kordofan for the first time since the violence began.
The United Nations, the African Union and the League of Arab States have tabled a joint proposal to facilitate humanitarian access to people affected by conflict throughout South Kordofan and Blue Nile.
“We hope that we will soon be in a position to operationalise this proposal,” the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan Mark Cutts said on Friday.
On Sunday, clashes broke out in violation of a recent non-aggression pact.
For the first time, the Darfur-based Justice and Equality Movement rebels fought alongside the local Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North rebels against the government.
HUMANITARIAN CATASTROPHE
Across the border in South Sudan, some 140,000 people have been disrupted by inter-ethnic fighting in Jonglei State and there are broader concerns about worsening hunger.
The United Nations predicts that up to 4.7 million out of 8.2 million people in South Sudan could experience food insecurity due to poor rains and tensions with Sudan.
Humanitarian agencies in South Sudan are prepositioning supplies in preparation for a mass influx of returnees from Sudan ahead of an April 8 deadline for up to 700,000 Southern Sudanese to either leave or regularise their stay as foreigners.
Rights group Refugees International has warned it could create a humanitarian catastrophe.
The United Nations expects that returnees will have to spend some time in temporary sites waiting for onward transport or until roads become usable after the rainy season.
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