Clashes in Sudan impacts 16,500 people

Recent fighting in parts of Sudan's South Kordofan and Blue Nile states has displaced or affected an estimated 16,500 people, deputy UN spokesman Farhan Haq said Thursday. The figure, released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), came from the Sudanese government and is based on statistics gathered over the past two weeks, Haq told reporters here at a daily news briefing. "In response, the World Food Program (WFP) and its partners have already distributed one-month emergency food rations to 8,500 people," he said, adding that the Sudanese Red Crescent Society has established two emergency health clinics in Rashad, a town in northeastern South Kordofan. In addition, the spokesman said, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) supported the South Kordofan health ministry with emergency medicine and equipment, including basic health kids to cover 10,000 people for three months, nutritional supplements and water and sanitation services. In Abyei, Ali Al-Za'tari, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, expressed his concern Thursday about the increasing number of people from South Sudan seeking refuge in Abyei, an area contested by South Sudan and Sudan. According to the UN, at least 3,000 people have arrived in Abyei fleeing violence in South Sudan's Unity State over the past few days, bringing the total number of South Sudanese in the area to 6,000. The influx is stretching the existing resources to people in need.