COMPETITION FOR RESOURCES SPARKS FRICTION BETWEEN REFUGEES, LOCALS IN SOUTH SUDAN - UN

From: UNNews <UNNews@un.org>
Date: 21 Mar 2014 15:00:01 -0400
Subject: COMPETITION FOR RESOURCES SPARKS FRICTION BETWEEN REFUGEES,
LOCALS IN SOUTH SUDAN - UN
To: news11@ny-mail-p-lb-028.ptc.un.org

COMPETITION FOR RESOURCES SPARKS FRICTION BETWEEN REFUGEES, LOCALS IN
SOUTH SUDAN - UNNew York, Mar 21 2014 3:00PMAmid tit-for-tat attacks
between locals and refugees sparked by food shortages in an area of
South Sudan's volatile Upper Nile state, the United Nations refugee
agency said today that it is gravely concerned about new tensions
rising in the region.

"Local residents [in Maban County] are now demanding that the some
60,000 refugees in Yusuf Batil and Gendrassa camps leave within two
months," Fatoumata Lejeune-Kaba, a spokesperson for the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),
<"http://www.unhcr.org/532c1aa46.html">told journalists in Geneva,
adding that hostilities have also spread to Doro and Kaya camps.

While stressing that UNHCR is working with authorities and other
humanitarian agencies to diffuse the tensions, she explained that
competition for natural resources - including firewood, grass and
grazing land - has recently boiled over into "tit-for-tat" attacks,
forcing up to 8,000 refugees to flee Yusuf Batil camp.

"Houses, tents and granaries belonging to refugees and villagers alike
were set on fire during the fighting. Although refugees have since
returned to the camp, tensions persist. Maban residents living near
Yusuf Batil camp have fled, citing fear of further confrontation with
refugees who outnumber them," Ms. Lejeune-Kaba said.

According to UNHCR, since armed conflict between Government and rebel
forces broke out in South Sudan in mid-December, instability and
conflict in the region have disrupted planting and harvesting. At the
same time, insecurity along transportation routes has hampered the
delivery of food and other humanitarian supplies.

During the first week of March, refugees across Maban's four camps
received a 10-day ration of pulses and oil. Pulses and oil cover only
24 per cent of the daily energy needs of 2,100 kcal. Shortages have
left them without cereals and salt for several weeks. In addition,
some key non-food items, including fuel and medicine, are running out.

"There is a need to ensure adequate supplies are in place before the
onset of the rains or else all deliveries will have to be undertaken
by air," stressed Ms. Lejeune-Kaba. "Without enough to eat, refugees
have been growing restless. Some have threatened to return to Sudan's
Blue Nile state, which they fled because of continuing armed
conflict," she noted.

Maban County hosts 125,000 Sudanese refugees from Blue Nile. A third
of the refugee population is made up of small children, pregnant and
lactating women, elderly and disabled people and the chronically ill.
And they are the ones most vulnerable to malnutrition, says UNHCR.

The Governments of South Sudan and of Ethiopia have agreed to allow
humanitarian supplies through Gambella, Ethiopia, which will enable
the UN World Food Programme (WFP) to dispatch much needed food
commodities for internally displaced people and refugees in Maban in
the coming days.

Meanwhile, the insecurity and hunger are forcing more South Sudanese
to flee into neighbouring countries such as Ethiopia, where an average
of 1,000 South Sudanese refugees arrive daily. The refugees, mainly
women and children, have been arriving in the Gambella region from
Upper Nile and Jonglei states.

The Government had made land available for two new camps in Gambella -
Leitchuor camp opened in mid-January and Kule in late February. But
Leitchuor, with 30,000 people, has exceeded its capacity, and Kule is
fast approaching its limit of 20,000.

The refugees still face challenges, including serious health concerns.
Many arrive malnourished. "With WFP and UNICEF, we have established
feeding programmes to support their recovery," said the UNHCR
spokesperson.

Also speaking to the press, WFP spokesperson Elisabeth Byrs added that
the agency is doing everything possible to resupply the food stocks in
the Maban County refugee camp "as fast it can." She added that WFP is
grateful to the Governments of South Sudan and Ethiopia for their
decision to allow cross-border food shipments to resume. "This should
help re-establish the critical humanitarian life line for thousands of
the displaced," she said.Mar 21 2014 3:00PM
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