The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) says the growing tension between Sudan and South Sudan has sparked off a new exodus of refugees fleeing insecurity.
UNHCR Spokesperson Adrian Edwards says that as many as 55,000 civilians are moving South wards from Damazine and Kurmuk in Sudan’s Blue Nile State.
He said many others are crossing into the new Guffa village 9 kilometers from the border or Bunj, the capital of Maban County in South Sudan’s Upper Nile State.
UNHCR says several other people are flooding into Ethiopia where “more than 30,000 Sudanese” have already found refugees.
The agency has condemned Thursday’s bombing of a refugee site in South Sudan.
Several bombs were dropped allegedly by the Sudan Armed Forces on Unity State’s Yida area, damaging a camp that has been sheltering about 20,000 refugees.
There have been no reported casualties in the camps.
South Sudan became the world’s newest country in July, after decades of conflict with its Northern neighbor, Sudan. However, border and oil disputes are brewing tension between the two countries.
