UNITED NATIONS, March 28 (Xinhua) -- "We can't stress enough how deeply worried we are about the risk of the situation" in South Sudan, a UN spokesman said on Friday, amid fears that the country is on the brink of civil war.

"This humanitarian crisis is being driven by violence, by food insecurity, by political instability, by climate shocks, by disease outbreaks as well as the spillover from the conflict in neighboring Sudan," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, at a daily briefing.

Dujarric said dozens of casualties were reported due to violence in recent weeks, with up to 120,000 people forced to flee their homes.

The levels of acute hunger remain high, with some 7.7 million people who are severely food insecure and 650,000 children under the age of 5 at risk of severe acute malnutrition.

He said a cholera outbreak in South Sudan is yet to be contained, with more than 42,000 cases reported and nearly 800 deaths.

"Once again, we call on the parties to put their weapons down and put all the people of South Sudan first," said Dujarric. "At this critical juncture, we also appeal to (UN) member states to swiftly supply the resources we need to stem the growing humanitarian crisis in the country, particularly in the face of funding cuts."

According to the UN Refugee Agency, there are 2.22 million internally displaced and 1 million refugees from the nearly 2-year civil war in neighboring Sudan, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan. Enditem

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