24 January 2012 – The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) expressed alarm today at yesterday's air attack in South Sudan on vulnerable refugees already fleeing violence in Sudan's Blue Nile State.

At least one Sudanese refugee boy were injured and 14 others missing following the aerial bombing, which occurred in Elfoj in Upper Nile State. Several bombs fell on the refugee transit site, located less than 10 kilometres from the border with Sudan.

At the time of the incident, about 5,000 refugees were at the site, some of whom were preparing to move to new settlements. UNHCR and International Organization for Migration teams with 14 trucks were supervising relocation operations when the first round of bombings took place. Refugees jumped out of the trucks and scattered. Agency staff also had to seek safety.

After the bombings, agency staff rapidly mobilized refugees and the convoy left for a safe location some 70 kilometres from the border with 1,140 individuals on board. This brought to 11,477 the total number of refugees moved from Elfoj since relocation operations started on 6 January. About 4,000 more refugees relocated spontaneously from Elfoj.

There were previous attacks on Sudanese refugees in border areas. Last November, New Gufa an entry point for refugees in Maban County, Upper Nile state was bombed over several days. Yida refugee settlement, in Unity State near the border with Sudan's South Kordofan State, was
also hit by air raids.

Overall, more than 20,000 refugees have relocated spontaneously or with the assistance of the international community from border areas to new settlements in Upper Nile and Unity states. Last week, UNHCR and partners began relocating Sudanese refugees from Yida.

In total, more than 78,000 people have fled Sudan's South Kordofan and Blue Nile states since August last year. Of this number, more than 54,000 are in South Sudan's Upper Nile State and 24,000 in Unity State.