Sudanese refugees from the Nuba Mountains living in camps in South Sudan have called upon the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) to resume the provision of services that have stopped for almost two years.
El Nur Saleh, the Coordinator of Yida, Ajuong Thok, and Pamir camps in South Sudan's Unity and Upper Nile states, told Radio Dabanga that the UNHCR suspended the health, education and water services in early 2016 on the pretext that the camps are not safe; that the camps should be 50 kilometres from the conflict zones in accordance with the permitted and legally recognised distance.
He said the disruption of services has led to a crisis in drinking water, a great shortage of health centres, medical personnel and medicines, this in addition to the impact on the educational process in the camp.
He pointed to a significant shortage of school equipment, books and pamphlets.
El Nur appealed to the UNHCR to resume its services in the three camps.
Regarding the security situation in the camps, he confirmed it is calm following the protests the camp witnessed last week, when residents protested the murder of a man called Peter Sid.
He called on the refugees not to stray long distances away from the camps because of lack of security and the difficulty in identifying and arresting the perpetrators, as well as calling on them not to sabotage the service institutions in the camps.