The number of South Sudanese seeking refuge following the aborted peace deal signing last Monday has risen to 619,386 by August 19, an increase of 60,386 refugees in June this year.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), the largest host of South Sudanese refugees in the region is Ethiopia with 221,376 followed by Sudan with 191,253, Uganda with 160, 300 and Kenya with 46,457 refugees.
The conflict in South Sudan pitting soldiers loyal to President salva Kiir Mayardit and his nemesis Riek Machar Teny broke out in December 2013 and since then tens of thousands have been killed, while over two million have been displaced, including 1.6 million inside South Sudan.
The volatile situation led to the intervention of the international community, with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) brokering several peace deals, the latest being the one which collapsed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on August 17 after General Kiir demanded for time to assess the ‘final peace agreement’.
‘The humanitarian situation in South Sudan continued to deteriorate with no significant progress on political efforts to resolve the conflict,’ a UNOCHA report states.
