Thousands fleeing South Sudan to seek refuge in Sudan

By Magdalene Mukami

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) - Tens of thousands of women and children are fleeing from South Sudan to Sudan, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) regional offices based in Kenya said on Tuesday.

The Red Cross said about 417,000 South Sudanese refugees had crossed the border into South Sudan seeking refuge since the war started in 2013.

In the statement, Fatoumata Nafo-Traoré, regional director for Africa for IFRC said: "The people who are arriving [in Sudan] are in a desperate state. Most are in poor health, exhausted from their journeys, and traumatized by what they have seen and experienced."

South Sudan has been ravaged by more than three years of civil war and ethnic violence which broke out in late 2013 after South Sudan President Salva Kiir sacked his Vice President Riek Machar.

This year alone, the Red Cross said it had witnessed a rise in the number of South Sudanese crossing into Sudan.

Compared to 131,000 for the whole of 2016, the first four months of this year alone have seen 137,000 South Sudanese cross the border.

The Red Cross has also warned of an elevated risk of the spread of malaria and waterborne diseases.