JUBA, June 21 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations refugee agency on Thursday warned that the conflict raging in Sudan is likely to worsen the refugee crisis in the Horn of Africa region.
The fight between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has pushed refugees to as far as Kenya and Uganda, said Mamadou Dian Balde, regional director for the East and Horn of Africa and Great Lakes region at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Now some of the refugees are passing through South Sudan and going up to Uganda, and some refugees are even reaching Europe, said Balde in a recent interview with Xinhua.
He called for an end to the protracted conflict in Sudan and the restoration of regional stability, noting that the conflict has led to nearly 10 million refugees and internally displaced persons.
In addition, the UN official said that around two million Sudanese citizens are being hosted in neighboring countries including South Sudan, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, the Central African Republic, Libya, and Uganda.
"In South Sudan, we have 700,000 people who have come up here; of these, 550,000 are South Sudanese citizens who had been living in Sudan, and about 150,000 are Sudanese who have come here, and there are already a large number of refugees who were here prior to this conflict," Balde said.
He added that during his two-day visit to the Renk transit center in Upper Nile State and to a refugee camp in South Sudan, he came across newly arriving refugees and South Sudanese who were returning home.
A lot of support is required for their reintegration, including the improvement of access to basic amenities like health services, education, and water for the returnees in South Sudan so that they may integrate themselves into society, Balde said.
He said that there will be a risk of more children being displaced and migrating to neighboring countries if the conflict continues, noting that the UN secretary-general and leaders of regional blocs have been pushing for a truce among the parties to the Sudan conflict. ■
