UN: 20,000 people flee fighting in Sudan's Blue Nile state

[News_Editor]

UN: 20,000 people flee fighting in Sudan's Blue Nile state

2011-09-06 22:33:55 GMT+7 (ICT)

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- The United Nations (UN) on Tuesday said that around 20,000 people have fled Sudan's Blue Nile state where fighting has forced them to seek refuge in neighboring Ethiopia.

According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the refugees arriving in the Assosa region of western Ethiopia appear in good physical condition but need food, water and shelter.

Around 2,500 refugees who were willing to be relocated have been moved into an existing refugee camp at Sherkole that was first opened in 1997 in response to the North-South Sudanese civil war.

UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards during a news conference in Geneva noted, however, that most refugees are reluctant to go and prefer to stay near the border, hoping that the fighting will stop soon, allowing them to return home.

Meanwhile, the UNHCR has reiterated its call to both the Sudanese Government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North to end the fighting and allow access for humanitarian staff to address any urgent life-saving needs.

"We are also calling on both parties to ensure the protection of humanitarian workers and their assets, including warehouses where vital aid has been stored," Edwards stated.

Furthermore, tens of thousands of people have also reportedly fled within Blue Nile state and northwards to Sennar state. Edwards said the agency cannot independently confirm the numbers as so far only the Sudanese Red Crescent Society has access to the displaced.

On Friday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced his deep concern about the eruption of fighting in Blue Nile state, as well as the ongoing fighting in Southern Kordofan, and called for an immediate end to the fighting and for access for humanitarian agencies to the affected areas.

Emergency relief items were dispatched by the UN agency to Assosa and more supplies are on the way from the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, to assist those at Sherkole and other areas. It is also sending additional staff to the area to more effectively respond to the emergency.

In addition, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is providing water bladders and medical supplies while the UN World Food Program (WFP) is sending food urgently to the area.

While the UNHCR is preparing three new sites, Sherkole already accommodates some 4,000 Sudanese refugees, but it can take in a further 6,000 refugees. The new sites, meanwhile, will have a capacity to accommodate 10,000 refugees each, and are being allocated by the Ethiopian Government not far from Sherkole to accommodate the new arrivals.

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