In Pictures: Displaced in South Sudan - Al Jazeera English

In Pictures: Displaced in South Sudan

People fleeing ongoing fighting suffer from poor water quality and a lack of food.

Phil Moore |

The United Nations estimates that 395,000 people have been displaced across South Sudan since fighting broke out in December. More than 84,000 of those people are living in a makeshift camp, based around the town of Mingkamen. They have fled heavy fighting between government forces and rebels loyal to former Vice President Riek Machar in the state capital of Bor, four hours away by boat. 

Stepping out of the boat at the muddy port in Mingkamen, they carry their belongings and go in search of shade. It is the middle of the dry season here, and dust fills the air as a few aid vehicles pass through. 

A medic from Doctors Without Borders (known as MSF, under the French acronym) says the "water was a big issue" when people arrived and used water from the Nile. "Many of the cases in our clinic are caused by bad water." They have set up water distribution points to alleviate the problem, but with thousands more people arriving every day, the demand for resources is increasing. 

At one clinic, where a man is being treated for a gunshot wound to his side, the sound of gunfire echoes from across the river. The army is fighting to recapture Bor, the last rebel stronghold.

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