Overview
Since July 2011, heavy fighting and air strikes in the Southern
Kordofan and Blue Nile states in the Sudan have driven more than
80,000 Sudanese refugees across the border into the new country of
South Sudan. An additional 33,000 have crossed into neighbouring
Ethiopia and many tens of thousands remain internally displaced.
UNHCR is in the region providing protection and essential supplies
to those fleeing the conflict.
This conflict is threatening the fragile peace of the world's
newest country, South Sudan, created on July 9,
2011 following a referendum in January in which southerners
overwhelmingly voted in favour of secession from Sudan. The
referendum was one of the key outcomes of the 2005 Comprehensive
Peace Agreement, following the 21-year civil war between the
Sudanese government in the capital Khartoum and the rebels in the
south.
Despite the success of the referendum, the division of the Sudan
and South Sudan remains fraught with tensions and unresolved
issues. The main concerns that threaten peace in the region include
the division of oil wealth, the demarcation of the north-south
border and the status of the displaced southerners who remain in
the north.
UNHCR is actively engaged in the region and will continue to
provide protection and support to those who are displaced as a
result of the conflict. To help UNHCR continue their work
providing life-saving assistance, please donate today.
Note: Should the funds raised exceed the amount required to
meet the immediate and longer term needs of the people in the
affected areas, Australia for UNHCR will direct donations to
our Emergency Programs for Refugees to enable us to rapidly address
future emergencies as they occur.
How we help
UNHCR has so far completed 27 aid flights into South Sudan and
Ethiopia and have successfully delivered:
- 2,300 family tents;
- 16,000 kitchen sets;
- 36,000 blankets;
- 21,000 jerry cans and
- Plastic sheets, sleeping mates, mosquito nets and other
essential relief items.
The airlifts are ongoing as many more Sudanese continue to seek
safety in South Sudan and Ethiopia.
UNHCR is also supporting a mobile clinic to address the health
needs and provide treatment for the severely malnourished while
partner agencies assist in ensuring adequate access to water and
sanitation facilities. Efforts have also begun to construct a new
site to relocate refugees away from the border conflict.
News
SOUTH SUDAN: UNHCR alarmed at air raid on vulnerable refugees in South Sudan - 24 January 2012
JUBA, South Sudan, January 24 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency on Tuesday condemned an air attack earlier this week that left at least one Sudanese boy injured and 14 other refugees missing in South Sudan.
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SUDAN: UNHCR chief ends Sudan visit with relief for 'old' refugees, risks for new ones - 13 January 2012
KHARTOUM, Sudan, January 13 (UNHCR) – UN refugee agency chief António Guterres ended a visit to Sudan this week by hailing efforts towards lasting solutions for thousands of long-staying refugees in eastern Sudan, while raising concerns about the trafficking of vulnerable people in the region, including asylum-seekers.
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SOUTH SUDAN: UNHCR chief appeals for massive humanitarian support for South Sudan - 9 January 2012
DORO CAMP, South Sudan, January 9 (UNHCR) – UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres on Monday called on the international community to provide "massive" humanitarian support for South Sudan, which faces major forced displacement crises.
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SOUTH SUDAN: Running on empty, Sudanese refugees urged to leave unsafe border site - 30 December 2011
UNITY STATE, South Sudan, December 30 (UNHCR) – Bombs fell from the Southern Kordofan sky and Zahara* could hear them as they crashed into her village. The 20-year-old heard the explosions and she grabbed her two children and ran. She ran from her home in Lehemid in the Nuba mountains and to the next town.
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SUDAN: UNHCR concerned about thousands of refugees in South Sudan border areas - 18 November 2011
GENEVA, November 18 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency on Friday expressed concern about the security of thousands of refugees in South Sudan border areas as fighting in neighbouring Sudan continues to drive civilians across the frontier.
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SUDAN: UNHCR moves Sudanese refugees away from volatile border area - 20 October 2011
ASSOSA, Ethiopia, October 20 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency has started moving some 600 Sudanese refugees away from border areas amid fears that fighting inside Sudan could spill across the border into Ethiopia.
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SOUTH SUDAN: Thousands flee to South Sudan to escape clashes in Southern Kordofan - 16 September 2011
JUAB, South Sudan, September 16 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency said Friday that more than 8,000 civilians have fled into the newly independent South Sudan to escape fighting in a volatile border state of Sudan.
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SOUTH SUDAN: Displacement scenarios surrounding South Sudan secession - 11 July 2011
GENEVA, July 11 (UNHCR) – As South Sudan became an independent country last weekend, the UN refugee agency joined the international community in welcoming this historic event. However, there are a number of ongoing displacement situations affecting the country. Dominik Bartsch, UNHCR Operations Manager for Chad and Sudan, recently spoke to Geneva-based journalists on the issue.
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SUDAN: UNHCR seeks access to tens of thousands of displaced Sudanese - 14 June 2011
GENEVA, June 14 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency called Tuesday on local and central authorities to allow air and road access for humanitarian agencies trying to help thousands of forcibly displaced people in the capital of Sudan's Southern Kordofan border state.
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