Refugees fleeing to South Sudan and Ethiopia

Mireille Girard, the deputy representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in South Sudan, told the UN news agency IRIN that since early July 2011, 20,000 refugees had fled from South Kordofan, whilst another 30,000 had fled from Blue Nile State to South Sudan. This has followed fighting that broke out in those areas between the Sudanese armed forces and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement. It is estimated that 36,000 Sudanese refugees have arrived in Ethiopia from Blue Nile state since September, according to an update issued by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA). They added that since the Sudanese armed forces had gained control of the cities of Kurmuk and Geissan in Blue Nile State, the number of refugees crossing the border to Ethiopia had increased. According to UNHCR, figures at the beginning of November reached between 60 and 110 new arrivals from South Kordofan to Beida in Unity State, every day. They also stated that 20,000 refugees in South Sudan were living in instability as fighting continued near the border between North and South Sudan.