November 21, 2019 (GCDC) - Localized clashes between armed forces in South Sudan's Maiwut have led to a new influx of refugees into Ethiopia's Gambella regional state, the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) disclosed.
"Since November, over 3,600 refugees, including unaccompanied or separated minors, have arrived in Pamdong reception center, which is now hosting around 4,000 refugees," ECHO said in its latest situation report.
Noting the scaling up of its humanitarian response in Pamdong reception center amid the new influx of South Sudanese refugees in collaboration with its partners, ECHO, however, stressed that "major funding gaps remain across all sectors" in the provision of humanitarian support to the refugees.
According to recent figures from the United Nations, displaced South Sudanese nationals have remained the largest refugee population in Ethiopia, totaling about 320,957 persons as of the end of November 2019.
Of all the total refugee population presently living at the Pamdong reception center in Ethiopia's Gambella regional state neighboring South Sudan, some 32 percent are also said to be children under 4 years old.