Republic of Sudan Ready to Receive Refugees Fleeing Conflict in South Sudan

African Union mediator and former South African President Thabo Mbeki wih Presidents Silva Kiir of South Sudan and Omar Hassan al-Bashir of the Republic of Sudan in Ethiopia for peace talks. They have agreed to establish a demilitarized zone., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

WEDNESDAY 1 JANUARY 2014

Sudan ready to receive refugees fleeing conflict in South Sudan: official

December 31, 2014 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese government has announced readiness to receive refugees from South Sudan according to the international conventions and neighbourhood rights.

South Sudan’s clashes erupted on 15 December with fighting among a group of soldiers in the capital, Juba. The violence quickly spread to several states, cleaving the nation along the ethnic faultline of rebel leader Riek Machar’s Nuer and President Salva Kiir’s Dinka.

The UNHCR said in a statement issued on Tuesday that as of 30 December "several hundred" of South Sudanese arrived in Sudan, 4693 arrived in Ethiopia, and 950 arrived in Kenya.

"The fighting and insecurity mean that in some cases UNHCR staff and partners have limited or no access to border areas, such as between South Sudan and Sudan", the UNHCR underlined to explain its failure to provide the exact number of South Sudanese refugees who fled to Sudan.

Sudan’s Commissioner-General for humanitarian relief, Sulieman Abdel-Rahman, stated in Khartoum that the technical committee for humanitarian relief has discussed with the security committee in South Kordofan state the humanitarian situation on the border between the two countries and the flow of refugees from South Sudan to border areas.

He pointed that the concerned parties have embarked on developing the initial measures for receiving southerners fleeing conflict zones as well as making the necessary precautions to provide the basic services.

Abdel-Rahman said that southern refugees would be accommodated in safe zones, pointing that the technical committee paid similar visits to the White Nile and Sinnar states for the same purpose.

However, the governor of South Kordofan state, Adam Al-Faki, expressed concern over the tense situation on borders with South Sudan as the government and the rebel Sudan Revolutionary Forces (SRF) wage war against each other in the region.

He said that state’s security committee developed the necessary precautions to protect the state against attacks of the rebel groups.

Al-Faki also said that 200 refugee from South Sudan have arrived in the town of Al-liri, predicting arrival of further numbers.

(ST)