Over 30,000 people from Blue Nile have fled into South Sudan to avoid aerial bombardments by the Sudanese government and fighting between the military and Sudan People’s Liberation Army-North. Many of the civilians arrive in South Sudan with little to no food or supplies as United Nations agencies and humanitarian organizations attempt to keep up with the rapid influx of refugees in remote areas where supplies are difficult to deliver.
Refugees in Doro, South Sudan
Each day at least 1,000 refugees arrive in South Sudan many of whom have fled to Doro camp which hosts over 20,000 civilians from Blue Nile. As Doro nears capacity, the United Nations has begun to set up a second site for refugees called Jammam. Both sites are in Maban County in Unity State which faces extreme food shortages and whose residents have been struggling to support themselves in addition to their neighbors from Blue Nile.
Resources and supplies are extremely limited and the lack of food has left many children malnourished. According to Medecins Sans Frontieres, the refugees sometimes have to wait in line for up to 12 hours for water and many have contracted diseases due to extremely poor sanitary conditions. With the continually growing rate of new arrivals, civilians who have suffered from government attacks will now have to endure the lack of resources and the challenges that accompany such shortages.
Fighting in Blue Nile and South Kordofan has caused at least 82,000 refugees to flee to Ethiopia and South Sudan while an additional 266,000 remain caught in the states which have been devastated by conflict. Many refugees remained scattered in the rural areas along the border and those who flee to refugee camps fear attacks by the Sudanese military which bombed two refugee areas in South Sudan in November.
