South Sudan fighting triggers refugee influx

Kenya may have to prepare for another refugee influx after humanitarian agencies in South Sudan said the country was becoming uninhabitable for its population.

Tuesday, the United Nations and 20 humanitarian organisations separately appealed for an end to the violence, saying it was becoming increasingly difficult to supply aid.

Oxfam said the safety of seven million people was no longer a guarantee, while Unicef declared a water shortage at camps hosting internally displaced people.

“How many lives have to be lost before the parties to the conflict silence their guns and donors respond with more resources? We either act now or face an even larger human catastrophe in the weeks and months to come,” said Oxfam executive director Winnie Byanyima.

“Getting aid to people has been very difficult and even impossible in some areas. Cropping patterns have been disrupted. Not enough seed has been planted. Seasonal rains are making things worse.”

Ever since violence erupted in Africa’s youngest nation in December, the UN estimates that more than one million people have fled their homes, with about 270,000 seeking refuge in Kenya and Uganda.

Kenya is hosting the refugees at Turkana’s Kakuma refugee camp. With a population of about 130,000, humanitarian agencies say the camp is already full.

Medical charity organisation Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned that refugees in Uganda and Kenya were already too many.

“Every day, approximately 300 South Sudanese cross the border to escape insecurity and lack of food in their country,” MSF said in a statement. In Uganda, one camp is hosting 66,000 refugees, according to MSF.

The fighting is pitting soldiers loyal to President Salva Kiir and rebels led by sacked Vice-President Riek Machar.