Hundreds of refugees from Blue Nile in Sudan reportedly arrived in Upper Nile State seeking safety at about the same time as the recent clashes that broke out in Maban County.

Sheikh Mohamed El Zubeir, a native administration leader at Jendrasa camp told Radio Tamazuj that about 500 refugees from Blue Nile arrived in Maban County on Tuesday morning.

Radio Tamazuj was unable to independently verify this number.

El Zubeir said the refugees left from different parts of Blue Nile state owing to fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and SPLA-N forces. He said the majority of new arrivals are women, children and elderly people.

They were apparently en route southward since before the outbreak of clashes in Bunj area of Maban County on Sunday.

Maban County is home to a major aid operation providing relief services to over 127,000 refugees and local communities. Aid agencies say that since clashes on Sunday services such as food distributions and healthcare are suspended.

In a press statement today, the Humanitarian Country Team said aid agencies are still committed to staying in Maban, but noted, “Their work hinges on the security of their staff, especially of South Sudanese colleagues.”

The aid groups said they were ‘horrified’ at the killings of at least six of their colleagues in Maban County since Sunday.

“The humanitarian community is united in condemning these ethnically based crimes, and calls on authorities to conduct a full and swift investigation and ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice,” reads the statement.

Speaking on Tuesday, Sheikh Mohamed El Zubeir noted the UN Refugee Agency was unable to come register the newcomers at Jendrassa camp owing to the insecurity.

File photo: Refugees en route from Blue Nile to Maban County, 2012 (Tomo Kriznar)