Global charity calls for expanded aid for displaced Sudanese civilians living in South Sudan

JUBA, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- International medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) on Sunday called for urgent humanitarian support for displaced Sudanese civilians who have fled to neighboring South Sudan.

MSF said over the last weeks the number of recently displaced people has surpassed 80,000, including hundreds with war wounds as the conflict in Sudan intensifies.

Emanuele Montobbio, MSF emergency coordinator in Renk county of Upper Nile State, one of the main entry points for the displaced into South Sudan, said since the beginning of December, over 5,000 people crossed into the country each day as the fighting escalated near the border in Sudan's White Nile and Sennar states.

He said MSF is scaling up its response to the humanitarian crisis in Renk and surrounding informal settlements along the border, noting that the influx of people in the area and its surroundings has overwhelmed already scarce resources, leaving the displaced people in crisis.

"We have added 14 tents around the hospital to make space for the war-wounded patients that are arriving at Renk County Hospital, there is no place for other tents in the surroundings, while patients and their families keep coming to the hospital," Montobbio said in a statement issued in Juba, South Sudan's capital.

Montobbio said the medical charity is working alongside the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to treat war-wounded patients and manage the growing influx of critical cases and the mass casualty response in pre-and post-operative care wards, but the situation is completely overwhelming and it's not enough.

"Just a few dozen people have been treated with surgical interventions and tetanus vaccinations in recent weeks, while over 100 wounded patients, many with serious injuries, still await surgery," he said.

Roselyn Morales, MSF deputy medical coordinator in South Sudan, said outside the transit centers within Renk and in informal settlements, thousands are forced to live under trees or in makeshift shelters, with limited access to food, clean water, healthcare, or any other basic services.

"We urgently call on both South Sudanese authorities and international organizations to rapidly scale up their response in Renk and beyond, ensuring that the essential and lifesaving needs of the affected population are addressed without delay," she stressed.

MSF said that two Renk transit centers, designed to accommodate a maximum of 8,000 people, are now sheltering over 17,000 while most returnees and refugees initially entered South Sudan through the official Joda border crossing, an increasing number are now crossing through informal routes to the east of Renk in which more than 82,000 new arrivals have been recorded in areas including Joda, Duku Duku, Jerbana, Shemmedi, Gosfami and Atam.

Alhida Hammed, a wounded displaced person from Blue Nile State in Sudan receiving treatment at the MSF facility in Renk described the horrific situation back home.

"The houses were blazing, and everyone was running in different directions we have been displaced and now live under a tree, I have no desire to return home, home is no longer a home it is filled with bad memories," she said.

Bashir Ismail from Mosmon in Blue Nile described the destruction he witnessed from the air raids in his area.

"I used to only hear about air raids, but recently, it became a reality, I was at the market buying some items when the bombing started, and something hit me in the chest it was the most painful experience of my life I was so disoriented that it felt like I had lost my memory the next thing I knew, I was in Renk County Hospital," he said.

MSF said it is deploying mobile clinics to provide primary healthcare in informal settlements in Gosfami, Atam, Jerbana, and Joda, where displaced people are concentrated. It said on Dec. 17 alone, MSF teams conducted over 250 medical consultations in Gosfami and referred severely ill people to Renk County Hospital and are launching activities in response to the urgent need for water and sanitation in Atam and Jerbana.

Additionally, relief items have been delivered to these areas for distribution to 2,500 displaced families. Despite these efforts, the response remains insufficient due to the absence of other humanitarian organizations in these informal settlements, which has left a significant gap in support for the displaced population, MSF said. ■