WUNRN
SOUTH SUDAN - CONFLICT - HUNGER -
POVERTY - REFUGEE CRISIS - WOMEN & CHILDREN
Yida refugee camp just south of the border has seen an influx of malnourished people due to renewed fighting.
16 May
2012 - More than half the population of South Sudan are facing
food shortages due to the continuing conflict with
It says fighting on the border between the two countries and the
shutdown of oil production have had a devastating impact on the South's
economy.
It adds there are fears the situation in the South, which gained
independence from
Previous estimates suggest 4.7 million people are at risk of
food shortages.
In this latest report, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) says a complex combination of factors has "raised fears that the South Sudanese are sliding into destitution".
Those factors include:
- clashes between north and south along the contested
border regions
- inter-communal violence in Jonglei state
- the closure of oil production in a row over transit
fees with
Citing research from the World Food Programme, the report says food shortfalls have continued to worsen in the first four months of 2012. It says at least one million people will be food insecure this year while a further 3.7 million people are borderline.
Refugee Burden
It says the country is looking at a deficit of cereal crops of nearly half a million tons - the worst in peacetime and more than twice last year's shortfall.
It also says that poor infrastructure makes the delivery of humanitarian aid extremely precarious.
The continued arrival of southern refugees who had been living in the north is also placing a further burden on this fragile new country, says the BBC's Richard Hamilton.
Earlier this month rebels from the former rebel Sudan People's
Liberation Movement (PSALM)-North described the plight of the civilian
population in
Both