Three UN agencies have said that they are "deeply concerned at funding shortfalls" which could affect the assistance provided to South Sudanese refugees in Sudan, a UN spokesman told reporters here Monday.

The agencies, including the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP), are together appealing for additional funding to meet the greater needs created by the rapidly increasing number of South Sudanese fleeing into Sudan, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.

More than 50,000 South Sudanese have crossed into Sudan since the beginning of 2016, surpassing the planning figure set for the entire year, he said.

"The agencies added that the funding shortages coincide with a period of heightened food insecurity in part of South Sudan," he said. "This, in addition to the ongoing violence, is driving rapidly increasing numbers of South Sudanese into Sudan."

South Sudan plunged into violence in December 2013, when fighting erupted between troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and defectors led by his former deputy Riek Machar.

The conflict soon turned into an all-out war, with the violence taking on an ethnic dimension that pitted the president's Dinka tribe against Machar's Nuer ethnic group.

The clashes have left thousands of South Sudanese dead and forced around 1.9 million people to flee their homes. Endit

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