JUBA, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan said Friday that it's seeking 1.8 billion U.S. dollars to support the settlement of about half a million people displaced by the conflict in neighboring Sudan and returnees from Ethiopia.

Michael Makuei Lueth, the minister for Information, Communications Technology, and Postal Services, said since the conflict broke out in Sudan in April 2023, more than 460,000 people have crossed into South Sudan, and over 100,000 have also entered South Sudan from the Gambella region of Ethiopia.

Makuei said the funds they are looking for will be used to transport the returnees and settle them.

"For the humanitarian affairs to cover all the needs, they need about 1.8 billion dollars to cover all the costs for the refugees, returnees, host communities and for the transportation of those who have been stranded at the border to be transported to their respective home areas so that they can settle," he told reporters in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, after the cabinet meeting.

The minister said the government will raise the funds and part of it will be raised by the international community and the humanitarian organizations.

Deadly clashes have been going on between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary forces Rapid Support Forces (RSF), rival factions of the military government of Sudan, since April 15.

The conflict has killed more than 9,000 people, displacing over 6 million others within and outside Sudan and leaving 25 million in need of aid, according to the UN. Enditem

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