Uganda 520,577 Sudan 261,794 DRC 60,211 | Ethiopia 321,342 Kenya 90,181 CAR 4,931 | |
South Sudanese refugees are persons originating from the African country of South Sudan, but seeking refuge outside the borders of their native country. In recent history, the world's newest independent nation has been the stage for prolonged conflicts and civil wars, as well as environmental changes, namely desertification. These forces have resulted not only in violence and famine, but also the forced migration of large numbers of the population, both inside and outside the country's borders.
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Internally displaced South Sudanese
At least 1.6 million people in South Sudan became internally displaced persons as a result of the South Sudanese Civil War, which began in 2013.
Host countries
As of June 2016, an estimated 725,000 South Sudanese people were refugees in neighboring countries.
Ethiopia
About 272,000 refugees from South Sudan were living in the Gambela Region of Ethiopia, as of April 2016. Most of them live in these refugee camps:
Blue Nile students at high schools in Bambasi, Tango, Sherkole, and Ashuraa refugee camps in Ethiopia report difficulties sitting for the Ethiopian National Examinations. As of 2014, around 5,500 refugees from South Sudan were living at Tirgol, Ethiopia.
Uganda
Uganda had nearly 100,000 South Sudanese refugees as of March 2016. As of January 2016, most were located at Adjumani, Arua, Kiryandongo and Kampala. Uganda opened four reception centres for South Sudanese refugees in 2014. They were located in Keri in Koboko district, Rhino in Arua, Dzaipi in Adjumani at the Uganda-South Sudan border near Nimule, and one at Entebbe Airport. The Dzaipi settlement became overcowded, as it had 25,000 people, and was only designed to hold 3,000 people. In February 2016, The UN Children's fund reported that "The transit centres are at their limits. Nyumanzi Transit Center can accommodate 3,000 persons but can be stretched to 5,000 individuals in a worst case scenario while Maaji Settlement (Adjumani) can take another 10,000 refugees." Refugees at the Kiryandongo settlement camp have taken up agriculture.
Kenya
In Kenya, 44,000 South Sudanese refugees arrived between late 2013-2015. As a result, Kenya's Kakuma refugee camp expanded by almost half.
Hosting refugees
There are 272,261 registred refugees in South Sudan in 2016: 251,216 are from Sudan, 14,767 are from the DRC, 4,400 from Ethiopia and 1,878 are from the CAR.