1M South Sudanese fled to neighboring countries: UNHCR

By Godfrey Olukya

ARU, Democratic Republic of Congo (AA) - The number of South Sudanese refugees taking shelter in neighboring countries this week passed the one million mark, said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Friday.

''With this milestone, South Sudan joins Syria, Afghanistan, and Somalia as countries which have produced more than a million refugees,'' said a UNHCR statement.

According to the statement, Uganda has the biggest number of South Sudanese refugees, now numbering nearly 375,000.

''Uganda is hosting the lion’s share of South Sudanese refugees, with 373,626,” it said. “They keep coming; over the past week more than 20,000 new arrivals were recorded, primarily through the Oraba crossing in the northwest.”

In second place for South Sudan refugees is Ethiopia with 292,000.

''A surge of people, more than 11,000, many of them from the Nuer tribe, have crossed into Gambella during the past week, bringing the number of South Sudanese refugees in that country to more than 292,000. The majority were women and children, including some 500 children travelling alone,” said the statement.

It continued: “Neighboring Sudan hosts the third-largest number of South Sudanese refugees, 247,317, and people continue to come to the country’s East Darfur, South Darfur, and White Nile states.''

The Democratic Republic of Congo is hosting over 40,000 refugees while others have crossed to Kenya, Congo, or the Central African Republic.

''These countries have commendably kept their doors open to new arrivals,'' the UNHCR said.

The flight of people from South Sudan came as a result of fighting between government soldiers and fighters loyal to former First Vice-President Riek Machar that started this June.