Photo Essay: An uneasy, uncertain refuge from Sudan’s war

For those who do make it to South Sudan, there is silence from the guns, but little else – aid is severely limited because the country is still recovering from its own civil wars.

Photos: Luis Tato/AFP

On the banks of the White Nile in South Sudan’s border county of Renk, boats wait to take people fleeing the war in Sudan to safety further south in Malakal, a journey that takes days. At the UN’s Malakal reception centre, hundreds more arrive every day on trucks and on foot. More than 550,000 Sudanese have fled to South Sudan since the civil war broke out in April 2023. In addition, more than 820,000 South Sudanese – who had fled to Sudan in earlier conflicts – have had to return. For those who do make it to South Sudan, there is silence from the guns, but little else – aid is severely limited because the country is still recovering from its own civil wars. No one knows when they might return.

Casting off: A young woman on board a boat on the White Nile watches over the belongings of families fleeing the war in Sudan on 14 February.

Safer harbour: Displaced people arrive at a transit centre for displaced people in Renk.

Disembark: A Sudanese woman alights from a truck in Renk.

Helping hand: Men line up for cash assistance at the Renk transit centre.

Seeking solace: A Sudanese girl waits to be registered by the authorities at the Joda border crossing.

Passing through: Children at a transit centre peer into a tent being used as a nutrition clinic.