JUBA, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- The UN humanitarian agency said on Monday that close to three million South Sudanese have fled their homes and are either internally displaced or have sought refuge in neighboring countries since December 2013 due to insecurity.
According to the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the number includes an estimated 1.87 million internally displaced people.
"Large spikes in internal displacement have been reported in the Greater Equatoria region, where fighting has driven tens of thousands of people from their homes since July," OCHA said in its latest report released in Juba.
The statement comes after OCHA's Director of Operations, John Ging, last week expressed concern regarding the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in South Sudan following a visit to the country from Nov. 9-12.
Ging noted that the escalation in fighting, food insecurity and economic challenges were alarming. "The gravity of the situation that the people of South Sudan face cannot be overstated," he said.
During the visit, Ging who also visited people affected by the conflict in Juba and Yei. Ging expressed shock at the plight of the population in Yei.
"I listened with sorrow to women who recounted their traumatic experiences. Their stories were amongst the worst that I have heard," he said, and emphasized that people "are expecting the international community to step up" and stressed that "we have to, all of us, somehow mobilize."
According to the OCHA report, the number of displaced people more than doubled in Central Equatoria from July (71,000) to October (143,000), following insecurity and sporadic fighting in multiple locations.
"The worst affected areas have been Juba and Yei counties. Of these, about 204,500 were sheltering in United Nations Protection of Civilians (PoC) sites as of 10 November, a more than 20 per cent increase compared to the number seeking shelter in the PoCs at the end of June (169,400)."
According to the UN, in addition to South Sudanese who have been internally displaced, more than 10,000 refugees -- from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Central African Republic (CAR) and Sudan -- who were living in Lasu camp in Yei County, were forced to flee in September following attacks at the camp.
Most of the refugees are now thought to be sheltering in bushy areas near the border with DRC.
