UNITED NATIONS, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Spiraling violence has forced an increasing number of civilians in South Sudan's oil-rich Unity State to seek refuge with the United Nations peacekeeping mission, a UN spokesman told reporters here Wednesday.
"The numbers of internally displaced persons currently sheltered at the UNMISS protection of civilians site in Bentiu are swelling," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here, referring to the acronym for the UN Mission in the country.
More than 12,000 civilians are currently seeking refuge, he noted, the majority being women and children.
The figure comes one day after reports that opposition forces took control of the state capital, Bentiu. Also on Wednesday, UNMISS received reports that anti-government forces are now controlling Guit and Rubkona Counties in Unity State.
UN military patrols also identified thousands of displaced civilians gathered in the vicinity of Bentiu Hospital and the compound of the UN World Food Program (WFP).
Later in the day, an UNMISS official confirmed that the Mission had managed to get all remaining civilians out of the hospital and into a safe location.
Since the hostilities that erupted between the government and opposition forces last December, an average of 75,000 civilians have found refuge from violence in UN bases across the country.
On Tuesday, UN blue helmets conducted a number of patrols, including in Bentiu and Rubkona, where the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) headquarters was described as "empty" with a few SPLA soldiers deployed in Bentiu.
Looting of shops by civilians in the state capital was also observed. The patrol also witnessed some 40 bodies on the streets in Bentiu, Dujarric said.
Speaking to journalists on Tuesday in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, UN Humanitarian Coordinator Toby Lanzer said the number of people seeking shelter in Bentiu doubled over the past few days to at least 9,000 people.
Lanzer said he felt "a certain sense of outrage," as UN and other aid agencies made efforts to deal with immediate consequences of the ongoing violence.
About a million people in South Sudan have been forced from their homes due to the conflict. The UN continues to advocate with the country's authorities for political and security solutions that will allow the displaced to return to their homes or seek abode in any other part of the country.
