At least 762 Sudanese refugees have arrived in Rioriak payam of Rubkona County in South Sudan’s Unity State after fleeing violence in Sudan’s oil-producing Heglig area, local authorities said Wednesday.
Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) recently seized Heglig, the country’s largest oil field, amid ongoing fighting with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in the southern oil-producing region.
Heglig, a small border town between Sudan’s West Kordofan state and South Sudan, hosts some of Sudan’s most important oil infrastructure, including dozens of wells, storage facilities and processing stations. The field processes between 80,000 and 100,000 barrels per day for both countries.
A key pipeline carrying crude from South Sudan’s Unity oil fields to Port Sudan runs through Heglig, making the area critical to export revenues and transit fees earned by Sudan.
Moses Ruai Lat, chairperson of Unity State’s Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC), told Radio Tamazuj that the refugees crossed into South Sudan last week following fighting between Sudan’s Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in the Heglig area.
“This is the first major refugee influx into Unity State since the conflict escalated,” Ruai said, adding that earlier arrivals of about 1,000 refugees had been recorded in Rubkona County, though some later moved to the neighboring Ruweng Administrative Area, recognized by the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR.
Ruai said authorities have held emergency meetings with international nongovernmental organizations and U.N. agencies to coordinate assistance for the new arrivals.
He said the refugees face severe shortages of food and non-food items, including plastic sheets, mats, mosquito nets and clean drinking water.
“The refugees are really suffering,” Ruai said. “International NGOs are also facing serious funding shortages, especially following cuts in U.S. support, which is affecting our response capacity.”
Ruai said a new settlement site has been identified to accommodate the refugees who have crossed into South Sudan.
Some of the refugees said they fled Heglig in search of safety and were received by Unity State authorities, including Governor Riek Bim Top.
“We left everything behind in Heglig because of the fighting,” one refugee said. “We came with nothing, and we are asking NGOs and U.N. agencies to help us in this difficult situation.”