Gambella Buckles Under Pressure From Influx Of South Sudanese Refugees

32 dead from cholera outbreak, humanitarian provisions in short supply

By Temesgen Tegafaw

The Gambella Regional State is struggling to accommodate an influx of South Sudanese refugees fleeing intensifying airstrikes, while a cholera outbreak further complicates the situation, local officials told The Reporter.

At least 32 have died as the waterborne disease continues to spread in the region.

The South Sudanese government has been conducting airstrikes targeting opposition forces in areas near the Ethiopian border as conflict grips the world’s youngest country once again.

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“This has led hundreds of South Sudanese to seek refuge in Gambella. Many are arriving wounded. Most of them are children and women. Women and children have also died while fleeing to Ethiopia,” Jack Josef, head of the Gambella Disaster Risk Management Commission, told The Reporter.

Many of the incoming refugees have settled at Burege IDP Center in Gambella’s Wantuwa Woreda.

“The regional government is not mandated to handle refugees. We’ve established the IDP center because we cannot establish a refugee camp,” said the Commissioner.

Only the federal government can officially establish a refugee camp, but it has yet to recognize the South Sudanese refugees, according to Jack.

“A refugee camp needs federal government recognition, and needs to fulfil several supply provisions. Until the federal government recognizes them, we are only providing minor services like cholera treatment and health screening,” he told The Reporter.

More than 1,900 cases of cholera have been registered at Burege so far, with 32 deaths recorded among local residents and refugees.

Officials in the area say access to clean water and basic health services remain a serious outstanding issue.

“Life saving inputs are highly critical here,” said Jack. “The refugees are mixing with local Ethiopian residents. Because there are no humanitarian supplies at the IDP center, the refugees are leaving and going to live with the locals.”

The refugees and the people of Burege Woreda and the wider Gambella region share similar cultural backgrounds; some are even relatives. This has made it difficult to segregate the refugee population, according to the Commissioner.

South Sudan is on the brink of reigniting the disastrous five-year civil war that left hundreds of thousands dead before it ended with a peace deal in 2018. The war was fought between forces loyal to Vice President Riek Machar and his rival, President Salva Kiir, often along ethnic lines involving the Dinka and Nuer ethnic groups.

The two men have headed a united government over the past seven years.

However, growing tensions between the factions reached a boiling point when Machar was detained by government forces last month on allegations that he was working to stir up a new rebellion.

His detention follows weeks of fighting in the country’s Upper Nile State between the military and the White Army militia, who were allied with Machar’s forces during the civil war. The militia denies any current links to the Vice President.

This week, the AU Peace and Security Council emphasized that the recent developments in South Sudan have significantly impacted the progress made in consolidating peace in the country since 2018.

The Council has called for the immediate and unconditional release of  Machar and his wife and urged that any political differences should be resolved through dialogue.

The Council has also requested the new Chairperson of the AU Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, to dispatch a high-level delegation and a ‘Panel of the Wise’ to South Sudan in a bid to de-escalate tensions and negotiate a ceasefire.

The AU-mandated mediation team, which includes Burundian President Domitien Ndayizeye, arrived in Juba, South Sudan’s capital, on Wednesday for talks, according to reports.

Machar’s Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO) party has issued a statement welcoming the mediators.

Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga visited Juba earlier this week in a separate attempt to mediate between the two factions. He met with Salva Kiir but said he was not permitted to see Machar.

Analysts posit that Kiir, 73, is attempting to shore up his position amid growing discontent within his own political camp. Reports indicate the situation is exacerbated by an influx of arms from Sudan, which is struggling with its own civil war.