Canadians are trying to find a way out of South Sudan as ethnic fighting escalates and foreign affairs officials in Ottawa estimate about 100 Canadians are still in the troubled country.
Thousands of people waited outside a UN base in Bor on Monday seeking protection after a week of clashes between rebel and government forces left hundreds dead and forced thousands more to flee.
In Calgary, dozens of people turned up at City Hall to protest the situation in South Sudan.
They want people to know what's happening in their home country and are hoping to put pressure on the Canadian government to send aid to people in the area.
About 40 people stood outside City Hall with placards and signs and some marched down to the Harry Hays Building.
Organizers say they are condemning the genocide that is being committed in their homeland.
“Those people are not military soldiers, they are just innocent people who went to the city to try to get an education, to try to provide for their own family,” said Mary Bakual.
“Innocent people are dying and we need to intervene to make peace in southern Sudan, we just came out of a war there's no way we want to go back to war,” said event organizer, James Nguen.
Officials estimate that the death toll from a week of violence in South Sudan has likely surpassed 1000.
The Canadian government is advising against travel to the area and is urging Canadians currently living and working in the African country to leave immediately.
(With files from ctvnews.ca & Ina Sidhu)
