JUBA, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Violent clashes which erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan have forced 169,060 individuals into South Sudan, the United Nations humanitarian agency said Saturday.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that individuals from 38,697 households were recorded arriving in South Sudan since the beginning of the crisis as of Thursday.
"Of these arrivals, 91 percent are South Sudanese returnees, 6.6 percent are Sudanese, and 2.3 percent are of other nationalities," the OCHA said in its latest update released in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.
According to the UN, the number of arrivals is projected to continue increasing as the conflict in Sudan, Africa's third-largest country by land area, continues.
It said more than 19,000 refugees and asylum-seekers sought asylum in South Sudan.
"Women and children are increasingly arriving malnourished and requiring immediate life-saving nutrition assistance," the OCHA said.
It said poor road and terrain conditions in the rainy season and unpredictable security situations together with the shortage of funding to sustain operations remain key challenges.
"The partners of the emergency response plan have already made significant strides in assisting those in need, but the scale of the crisis requires more support," the UN agency said.
More than 4 million people remain displaced, 2.5 million internally and 2.2 million in neighboring countries, according to the UN.
The outbreak of fighting in Sudan on April 15 has resulted in an influx of people fleeing the country to neighboring countries including South Sudan.
The UN has warned that further development of the conflict in Sudan could destabilize the wider region. ■