Key humanitarian players flee Jonglei violence
Conflicts have spiked in South Sudan’s restive Jonglei area, and key humanitarian groups are now fleeing the region, Vincent Lelei, country head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said. There is no medical organisation left in the greater Pibor County,” Lelei said.
Lelei added that the ongoing insecurity in Boma town, Pibor, Maruwa Hill and Pochalla has hindered the work of NGOs. All humanitarian actors have withdrawn their staff from these counties,” he said. They stand ready to resume their work only if the government has assured them protection.
All humanitarian actors have withdrawn their staff from these counties.”
Recent hostilities have forced scores of civilians to flee as thousands of houses were burned down. Lelei appealed to the government to provide adequate security to humanitarian actors, saying that ongoing tension is destroying civilian property and hindering provision of basic services to the civilians in need of help.
South Sudan, which is at the bottom of almost every key development ranking, is reliant on the United Nations and humanitarian groups to provide basics like food, healthcare, infrastructure and education for its people.
Lelei said that the situation on the ground has sharply deteriorated. UNOCHA cannot tell how worse it has gone because it’s impossible to carry an assessment in these areas again,” he said. I am deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation in Jonglei State, where thousands of civilians are in need of assistance and protection, and where humanitarian workers have treated more than 450 casualties, including children, since February.”
UNOCHA cannot tell how worse it has gone because it’s impossible to carry an assessment in these areas again.”
He urged all parties to abide by their obligations under national and international law, to ensure that civilians are not caught in the ongoing hostilities, and enable all wounded to access medical care. He said that UNOCHA cannot longer perform its obligation of assessment due to the threats imposed on humanitarian agencies. He said that UNOCHA cannot estimate either how many people need assistance because it is too risky to travel to conflictive areas.
There is no figure for people in need of assistance in greater Pibor at the moment, but what I know is that they are in tens of thousands. He said that UNOCHA could reach to the ground to assess the situation of the increasing threats against humanitarian actors.
Reflecting mounting risk for humanitarian workers, five Indian UN troops and seven civilians were killed by rebels in Pibor County last month.
Tensions have peaked in Pibor following the insurgent leader David Yau-Yau who stepped up his violence in the region with the launch of the Jebel Boma declaration.
