Severe Flooding in South Sudan Displaces More Than 600,000

Children are seen near flood water from the broken dykes on Nile river, in Duk padiet county, Jonglei State | © Reuters/DENIS DUMO
Children are seen near flood water from the broken dykes on Nile river, in Duk padiet county, Jonglei State | © Reuters/DENIS DUMO
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Severe Flooding in South Sudan Displaces More Than 600,000

Children are seen near flood water from the broken dykes on Nile river, in Duk padiet county, Jonglei State | © Reuters/DENIS DUMO
Children are seen near flood water from the broken dykes on Nile river, in Duk padiet county, Jonglei State | © Reuters/DENIS DUMO

Severe flooding in South Sudan has forced more than 600,000 people to flee their homes since July, the United Nations said, after months of torrential rains caused the Nile to burst its banks.

The impoverished East African nation is struggling to recover from a five-year civil war and was already suffering severe food shortages.

Scientists say the unusual rains are caused by a cyclical weather pattern that has been exacerbated by climate change.

The coronavirus pandemic is also complicating the response, said United Nations humanitarian coordinator for South Sudan Alain Noudéhou. Costs for delivering aid have risen with the need to protect aid workers and families are forced to squeeze together on thin slivers of land.

"With the flooding, people had to move to higher ground and there´s not much higher ground," he said on Thursday during a visit to flood-hit areas.

He said the UN had allocated $10 million to help flood victims, but needed $40 million more by the end of the year.

Around him, families waded through water or tried to herd bedraggled chickens away from sodden piles of belongings.

Kok Manyok, 70, said he was sleeping under the trees after fleeing from his village Dorok in August with his grandchildren.

"The water level reached almost halfway up my body," told Reuters, motioning to his chest as he spoke in his native Dinka language. "There are no shelters for me and my grandchildren, our cattle are gone and we are sleeping under a tree."

Families were living off of leaves and sorghum, said Matthew Hollingworth, the country director of the UN's World Food Program (WFP).

"That is not enough to keep them healthy and fit," he said. Some food was due to be distributed next month but there was not enough to go round, he said.

South Sudan´s civil war erupted two years after the country won its independence from Sudan in 2011 and ended with a peace deal signed between the main parties in 2018. But not all armed groups signed the deal and low-level clashes, banditry, and attacks on aid workers continue.

The conflict displaced around a third of the 12 million population, creating the worst refugee crisis in Africa since the 1994 Rwandan genocide.



Türkiye Ups Border Security as Iran-Israel Conflict Rages

FILE PHOTO - Syrians wait at a checkpoint at the Syrian border crossing of Bab al-Hawa on the Syrian-Turkish border in Idlib Governorate January 21, 2015. REUTERS/Abed Kontar
FILE PHOTO - Syrians wait at a checkpoint at the Syrian border crossing of Bab al-Hawa on the Syrian-Turkish border in Idlib Governorate January 21, 2015. REUTERS/Abed Kontar
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Türkiye Ups Border Security as Iran-Israel Conflict Rages

FILE PHOTO - Syrians wait at a checkpoint at the Syrian border crossing of Bab al-Hawa on the Syrian-Turkish border in Idlib Governorate January 21, 2015. REUTERS/Abed Kontar
FILE PHOTO - Syrians wait at a checkpoint at the Syrian border crossing of Bab al-Hawa on the Syrian-Turkish border in Idlib Governorate January 21, 2015. REUTERS/Abed Kontar

Türkiye has stepped up security on its border with Iran since the start of Tehran's conflict with Israel, but has not yet seen any increase in people trying to cross the frontier, a Turkish Defense Ministry source said on Thursday.

Türkiye - a NATO member which shares a 560-km (350-mile) border with Iran - has condemned Israel's attacks on Iran, saying they violate international law.

It has also offered to help arrange a resumption of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States, according to Reuters.

"Intense security precautions have been taken via additional measures at all our borders including with Iran," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

There were no signs of "a mass immigration wave toward Türkiye," the source added.

Türkiye already hosts millions of refugees, most of them from another neighbour, Syria, and says it cannot take any more.

On Wednesday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan condemned Israel's attacks on Iran as "state terrorism" and said Türkiye would raise its own defences to such a level that "nobody will even consider" attacking it.

Türkiye has long said it is working to build up its defences, including long-range missiles - though officials and analysts say its plan for a "Steel Dome" defense system along the lines of Israel's "Iron Dome" is years away.

Barin Kayaoglu, a professor of international relations at Ankara Social Sciences University, said that while Türkiye's air defense systems could be effective if Ankara ever faced conflict scenarios like the fighting between Iran and Israel, more units were needed.

"Türkiye needs to gain range, altitude and anti-ballistic missile capabilities," he told Reuters. Any "Steel Dome" system "probably needs another five-six years", he said.