Ethiopia sees surge in refugees from South Sudan

547 people continue to arrive at the Pagak Transit Centre daily, UN Refugee Agency spokesman says  

World Bulletin / News Desk

There has been a surge in the number of refugees entering Ethiopia from South Sudan, where civil unrest and economic woes continues to drive people out to neighboring countries, a UN Refugee Agency spokesman said Wednesday.

“An average of 547 people continue to arrive at the Pagak Transit Centre on a daily basis,” Kisut Gebreegziabher told Anadolu Agency.

“Since Sept. 3, a total of 39,954 new arrivals were recorded, with women and children constituting the majority [about 86 percent],” Gebreegziabher said.

Malnutrition remains a major challenge. “A cumulative total of 4,929 children between the ages of six and 59 months have been screened for malnutrition, 310 of whom have been identified for enrolment in nutrition programs since Oct. 20,” he said.

A country update released by the agency quoted refugees citing “fear over the renewed fighting in areas in the Upper Nile State [Nasir, Maban, Mathiang and Maiwut], as well as food insecurity coupled with fright over the spread of the conflict to the Jonglei State [Ayod, Akobo, Fangak and Uru].”

More than 2.4 million have been displaced within South Sudan’s borders by the conflict, while UN figures from April show more than 930,000 living as refugees in Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda and Kenya.

The UN says 6.1 million need humanitarian aid.

Tens of thousands of people have been reported killed in the civil war that raged since mid-December 2013, when a crack occurred within the top profiles of the Sudanese People Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A).

Peace brokered in Addis Ababa under the eight-nation East Africa trading and security bloc, IGAD, failed to usher the country -- it only separated from Sudan five years ago -- into a new era of peace and reconciliation.  Read more  here