110,000 South Sudanese refugees in East Darfur – number expected to grow

The number of South Sudanese refugees in East Darfur now exceeds 110,000, and the flow is expected to increase, according to Ibrahim Musa Ali, the Humanitarian Aid Commissioner for East Darfur.

In a press statement last week, Commissioner Ali says that the Government of East Darfur has taken tight security and health measures at the crossing points used by South Sudanese refugees as the flow is expected to increase in conjunction with the harvest season.

He explained that the measures include receiving the South Sudanese in specific centres and subjecting them to a thorough medical examination to ensure their safety from any diseases or epidemiology.

UN High Commissioner

In August, The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, visited camp Nimir for South Sudanese refugees in East Darfur, urging refugees to preserve security.

Commissioner Grandi visited the health centre, waiting centre, registration centre, and the host community school in the camp, 15km west of the state capital Ed Daein, and held a number of special meetings with the refugees to hear their complaints.

Camp Nimir accommodates 5,537 refugees, of whom 64% are women. There are about 500 registered families.

Grandi said that the purpose of the visit is to assess the situation in the camp and provide more support to the refugees who fled the wars and famine in South Sudan.

He called for the need to stop the war in South Sudan and appealed to the refugees to preserve the safety of the place they are living in, while respecting the law of the host country and not to lose hope of returning to their countries if security and reassurance are available.