Relocation of stranded South Sudanese refugees begins


The relocation of 15,000 South Sudanese refugees who have been stranded for several months in western Ethiopia has begun, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has confirmed.

The group had been on its way to a refugee camp in the Gambela region but were unable to complete the journey due to flooding.

The first group of 125 people is due to arrive on Tuesday at an alternative location, the Pugnido camp, which is already accommodating some 45,000 mainly South Sudanese refugees.

Karin De Gruijl is a spokesperson for UNHCR in Geneva.

"There are currently more than 191,000 South Sudanese refugees in the Gambela region and different camps, since fighting in South Sudan started in December last year . They are coming from Upper Nile in Jonglei states in South Sudan."

Ethiopia currently hosts over 600,000 refugees mainly from South Sudan, Eritrea and Somalia.

SOURCE: Stephanie Castro, United Nations