MSF warns of deteriorating refugee situation at South Sudan border

Moatinoon
Doctors Without Borders MSF made an urgent appeal to address the humanitarian crisis of Sudanese refugees on the border with South Sudan. The number of displaced persons had recently exceeded 80 thousand over the past weeks, including hundreds injured in the war.

MSF says more than 5,000 people cross the border from Sudan into southern Sudan every day in December, following the continuation of various and systematic violence, as well as climate disasters.

Since April 2023, a war has been going on between the army led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces led by his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, in Sudan. The fighting has killed tens of thousands and displaced more than 11 million people.

MSF noted that "the influx of people into the city of Rank near the border and surrounding areas has caused severe consumption of already scarce resources, leaving the displaced in the face of a crisis."

"The situation is very difficult and the resources are totally inadequate," Emmanuel Montupio, MSF emergency coordinator in the Renk, said in a statement.

More than 100 wounded, many with serious injuries, are still awaiting surgery there. Currently, two transit centres in the Renk designed to accommodate a maximum of 8,000 people are housing more than 17 thousand people, according to the organization.

Roslyn Morales, deputy medical coordinator for Doctors Without Borders in South Sudan, said thousands of people crossing the border faced "severe shortages of food, shelter, potable water and health care."