Refugees flee fighting in South Sudan

Sudan's government said today that it has appealed to diplomatic partner and investor China for help in resolving a protracted dispute over oil revenues with newly independent South Sudan. China buys about 2/3 of the oil from the two countries.

The oil dispute has aggravated tensions along the border between the two nations. Thousands of refugees have packed camps in the border region. U.S. Congressman Frank Wolf recently visited a refugee camp in South Sudan, where more than 25,000 people have fled to escape the fighting. He spoke to several of the refugees: “The stories are pretty horrific that we were told,” he said. “We interviewed a number of people that were in the camp, and they’ve all left the Nuba mountains, where the Bashir government, the government of Khartoum, are bombing them, with Antonov bombers, and we’ve heard gruesome stories about the number of people who have been killed. There’s no food up in the area.”

Congressman Wolf told us about the needs of the refugees: “They’re hoping to get more food, they’re hoping to educate their children… and they’re looking for seed, and implements, tools, so that they can plant and grow their own food.”

Listen to the complete interview of Congressman Frank Wolf with Christopher Wells: