About 1.5 million refugees have fled war-torn South Sudan to neighbouring countries, half of them into Uganda, with thousands more still leaving daily, the United Nations refugee agency said on Thursday.
The world’s youngest nation descended into violence in December 2013 after President Salva Kiir accused his then-deputy Riek Machar of plotting to overthrow his government, accusations that Machar refuted. Machar however went on to mobilize a rebel force to fight the government.
A peace deal was signed in 2015 but has continually been violated by both sides, with Machar now living in exile in South Africa after his forces clashed with those loyal to Kiir in July 2016.
Charlie Yaxley, spokesman for the UNHCR in Uganda, said the agency estimated the total number of South Sudanese who have gone to neighbouring countries at 1.5 million, half in Uganda.
In December there were an estimated 600,000 South Sudanese who had arrived in Uganda.
The continued fighting in South Sudan had prompted the U.N. to warn that the country risks sliding into a full genocide if an intervention is not conducted soon.
