Sudanese Dinka, Nuer refugee groups clash in camps

Tension between the South Sudanese refugee ethnic Dinkas and Nuer is brewing up in camps in Northern Uganda and has prompted authorities to split and relocate the two groups accordingly.

West Nile region Police spokesperson, Josephine Angucia, said that, ethnic clashes between the two groups have become rampant and worrying-since some refugees fleeing the ranging conflict in South Sudan carry firearms, caches of bullets and army uniforms which can easily turn into bloodletting.

“They have shifted their internal conflicts to the camps, but we are trying all our best to diffuse such incidences,” she said, but, “Aware of the situation, we are now cautioning them straightway at the point of receipt.”

Another official not authorised to comment about the matter because they are coordinating the refugees, said such tension was building and worse in camps like Eregu in Adjumani, the first gathering point and several assault cases have been reported.

Ms Angucia, however pegged the tribal build-ups to trauma and anxiety the refugees have been through both at home and in camps, but maintained Police and the humanitarian agencies are averting any possibility of “escalation” by splitting them.

Similarly, authorities in Adjumani Saturday said refugees totaling to 29,515 rioted over the delay by agencies to relocate them to more spacious settlements but the situation was contained.

Fighting in South Sudan which pitted President Salva Kiir’ ethnic Dinka against former Vice President’ Nuer group started on December 15 after a purported Coup’ and has according to UN. agencies claimed over 1,000 lives and displaced more than 200,000 people.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund [CERF] has released a $15 million (Shs37 billion) funding package to expedite relief efforts for the Sudanese refugee operations.

The UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Valerie Amos, announced last week in New York that ‘aid agencies need to quickly provide assistance to the thousands of people caught up in violence, and funding is crucial.’

However, an official at the CERF secretariat at UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Mr Tomas de Mul, in a telephone interview from Washington, said the money released first was to purposely take care of operations for agencies on ground in South Sudan and not necessarily agencies in Uganda.

Side bar

The Uganda Red Cross head of communications, Catherine Makumbi, said current refugees numbers are believed to be 46,371.