JUBA, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The number of people in two of South Sudan's largest displacement hubs, Wau and Bentiu, has fallen by more than 57,000 in 2018 compared to the previous two years, the UN migration agency said on Friday.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in South Sudan said in a statement that recent headcounts indicate that 114,330 people are residing in the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) protection of civilians (PoC) site in Bentiu, while 25,968 people are living in the PoC and collective centers in Wau.
These numbers, the IOM said, are down from the official biometric registration figures, 161,071 for Bentiu and 36,832 for Wau, counted in the last comprehensive verification exercises in 2016 and 2017 respectively, which have since only been updated to include small numbers of new arrivals and newborns. This is a decrease of 57,605.
In Bentiu, the most recent headcount shows that children under the age of five constitute over one-third of the PoC site population.
Jean-Philippe Chauzy, IOM South Sudan chief of mission, said data, such as population sizes in the PoCs, are vital to the UN agency's operations.
"It shows us what is required to meet people's needs and where the displaced are when outside of the displacement sites," Chauzy said.
Chauzy said having people return to their areas of origin does not mean an end to humanitarian requirements in South Sudan.
"At the same time, the collective sites in Wau, namely Cathedral, Nazareth, St. Joseph, Lokoloko and Masna collective centers, saw some fluctuations, with influxes of newly displaced people at times," the UN agency said.
It said multiple escalations in the conflict in South Sudan since its outbreak in 2013 have forced more than 4 million people to flee their homes.
According to the statement, more than half of the displaced fled into neighboring Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic.
However, the IOM said, nearly 1.9 million people are displaced within South Sudan's borders. Nearly 90 percent live within host communities, rather than displacement sites.
Others live in small displacement sites known in the South Sudanese context as collective centers. The remaining group live on or adjacent to UNMISS bases where they sought protection during the conflict.
The PoC sites, which are unique to South Sudan, are located in Bor, Bentiu, Juba, Malakal and Wau, according to the IOM.
