Map of SOS Children's Villages in Sudan

June 2, 2011: Just seven weeks before South Sudan is due to secede as an independent country, tensions between North and South Sudan have flared up in the disputed Abyei region, on the ill-defined north-south border. About 60,000 to 80,000 people, mainly women and children, have fled the area. SOS Children’s Villages programs are located far from the area but are closely monitoring developments.

Fighting has resumed in the disputed Abyei region on the border between northern and southern Sudan. The population of Abyei and several villages in the area have fled to the south after widespread looting of shops and homes. Some 60,000 to 80,000 people, mainly women and children, are estimated to be on the run, moving on foot over roads that have turned to rivers of mud by the onset of the rainy season. The humid weather also bears a heightened risk of disease, which is particularly threatening to children.

A mule-drawn carriage moves food supplies in Malakal, in Southern Sudan.  In the background, a sign reads, "Say no to guns."

The Struggle to Provide Relief in the Sudan

Trading has all but ceased between northern and southern Sudan. A lack of fuel and deteriorating roads have made the delivery of relief goods to the displaced population a struggle. Communities that have become temporary homes to tens of thousands of refugees have almost nothing to offer.

SOS Children’s Villages Safe, Monitoring the Situation

The SOS Children’s Village Malakal, in the Upper Nile State, is 150 miles away from the north-south border and over 180 miles away from Abyei. Nevertheless, the situation is being closely monitored by SOS Staff in Malakal, in the south, and SOS Staff in Karthoum, in the north, with daily telephone contact between the two. The safety of the village in Malakal was reinforced after the SOS children’s village was overtaken by a militia group and the children had to be temporarily accommodated in a hotel in the town center in March.

Food Security a Concern in Malakal, Southern Sudan

An SOS Mother in Khartoum, Sudan, stands with her SOS children.

SOS Staff are especially vigilant regarding food security affecting Malakal. Prices of essential food and non-food items have increase by 30-50 percent (mostly felt on sugar and wheat). The impact is significant because the market in Malakal relies on commodities supplied from northern Sudan. Traders are reluctant to keep large quantities of supplies in stock in case political unrest leads to looting. In addition to this, widespread fighting over the pending separation of northern and southern Sudan may make fishing, the gathering of water plants and access to local markets increasingly difficult.

SOS Children’s Villages has cared for children in the Sudan since 1978. Today the SOS Villages in Khartoum and Malakal, as well as other SOS schools and training centers, provide loving homes and educational opportunities for orphaned and abandoned children.

You can help foster stability in the Sudan today. Please consider sponsoring an SOS child in the Sudan.