More than 5,000 people – primarily women and children under the age of 18 years – have fled from South Sudan to neighbouring Uganda since the latest violence in the country erupted on 7 July, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The agency expects more people to arrive as the road linking the South Sudanese capital, Juba, to Uganda has been cleared of checkpoints, Leo Dobbs, spokesperson for the UNHCR, today told reporters at a press briefing in Geneva on Tuesday.
Presenting the appeal, Ann Encontre, Regional Refugee Coordinator for the South Sudan situation, said the overall planning figure had risen from 867,239 refugees to 973,000. She warned that it could pass the 1 million mark in the coming months.
“Inside Uganda, more than 6,000 South Sudanese are staying in the Pagiarinya settlement in Adjumani District, while others are waiting at collection points to be transferred to the settlement,” Mr. Dobbs said, expressing caution that a recent evaluation found that the settlement has capacity for another 6,500 people, “Meaning it is likely to be full within a few days.”
Between Friday and Sunday, about 2,950 refugees had crossed into Uganda; prior to Friday, the daily rate was about 233 people.
According to report, the violence in Juba has resulted in the deaths of at least 300 people and over 10,000 have fled their homes.
In addition, UN humanitarian property has been destroyed. On 14 July, the main warehouse in the city run by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) was looted. The warehouse held one month’s worth of life-saving food and nutrition supplies for 220,000 people before the fighting erupted.
The Ugandan army said Wednesday it had evacuated 38,000 civilians caught up in fighting in Juba, the capital of crisis-hit South Sudan.
Most of those taken across the border were Ugandans but “they were joined by hundreds of Kenyans, Rwandans among other nationalities who wanted to leave South Sudan for their safety,” Ugandan army spokesman Paddy Ankunda said.
cnakalungi@ugchristiannews.com
