20120516
AFP
Heavy rains coming soon in Sudan and South Sudan will add to the woes of civilians after a border conflict and civil war forced thousands to flee their homes, aid agencies warned Tuesday.

"We're on the path from crisis to catastrophe," said Johnson Byamukama of Oxfam in South Sudan, one of five international agencies to issue the joint warning.

The others are Christian Aid, International Rescue Committee, Refugees International and Save the Children.

"Seasonal rains due in Sudan and South Sudan will exacerbate already dire conditions in refugee camps, restrict travel and access, and heighten the risk of disease," the joint statement said.

South Sudan -- which declared independence from its former civil war enemy Sudan in July -- is already reeling from multiple crises, including ethnic clashes, rebel attacks and over four million people needing food aid.

Sudan and South Sudan's armies are in a tense standoff along their contested border after weeks of fierce clashes took the foes to the brink of all out-war.

In addition, raging civil war in Sudan's Southern Kodofan and Blue Nile states has forced over 100,000 people to flee as refugees into the South, into remote areas cut off during the rains and with severe shortages of drinking water.

"The coming rains could make life for refugees unbearable and bring the threat of waterborne disease," Byamukama added. "The world needs to wake up to the true cost of conflict for people who have already suffered so many years of war."

Juba shut down oil production that generated 98 percent of government revenue in January in a bitter dispute over oil transit fees after Khartoum seized oil in lieu of payments, hitting the economies of both nations.

"A toxic combination of conflict, rising food and fuel prices, and severe cash shortages is having a devastating effect on the civilian population in both countries," said Jon Cunliffe, head of Save the Children in South Sudan.

The UN warned Tuesday the deteriorating economic situation in South Sudan could have a disastrous impact on the population "in the coming weeks or months" while the UN has only a third of the money it needs for the year.

"Unless the oil production is started again, the number of people who are going to require emergency assistance is going to be rising," South Sudan's UN Humanitarian Coordinator Lise Grande said.

The UN has a funding gap of 500 million dollars in humanitarian aid, Grande told reporters, adding that the amount of cash needed would rise if oil production does not resume.

The World Food Programme is also expecting bigger food shortages, with hundreds of increasingly malnourished people arriving daily to camps along the border.

In South Sudan, the lack of hard currency following the oil shutdown has sparked massive inflation, and the black market rate for dollars has risen from 3.5 to 5 South Sudanese pounds since January.

"With the depreciating currency... the price of basic food commodities is increasing -- in some places we are seeing increases of as high as 300 percent," Grande added.

A UN Security Council resolution earlier this month ordered Juba and Khartoum to cease hostilities and hold talks by May 16. While fighting has calmed on the border, there were no signs Tuesday of the talks going ahead on time.