from RAJI BASHIR in Khartoum, Sudan
Sudan Bureau
KHARTOUM, (CAJ News) – AT least 20 people have been killed and 70 000 others displaced after renewed inter-communal clashes in a disputed region between Sudan and South Sudan.
The fighting erupted on February 10 in the Abyei Administrative Area (AAA).
Of the estimated 70 000 people displaced, the majority are internally displaced in Abyei town.
Others have sought refuge across the South Sudanese border, with nearly 20 000 people displaced to Warrap State, South Sudan.
The Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC) and Abyei administration have reported some 700 aid workers have been relocated with their families to various locations, including Abyei town and South Sudan.
In Abyei and Agok, hospitals – primary health facilities are no longer functional.
Some 19 critical patients were relocated to a United Nations Interim Security Force hospital in Abyei town on February 12.
A child reportedly died during the relocation.
Two injured aid workers were evacuated by air ambulance on February 14.
An inter-agency humanitarian needs assessment team plans to verify the reports of displacements and humanitarian needs this week.
AAA is a contested 10,546 km² (4,072 square mile) zone located on the central border between South Sudan and Sudan.
Its status has remained unresolved since South Sudan seceded from Sudan in 2011.
Governments failed to agree on the border division.
– CAJ News