Aid trucks headed for South Sudan flashpoint town

Trucks carrying aid for thousands hit by tribal clashes in South Sudan were Friday headed for the flashpoint town of Pibor in the first relief operation by road, organisers said.

Four trucks carrying bedding, cooking equipment and other items are expected to reach Pibor in Jonglei state on Saturday to help 7,500 of the most needy, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.

The convoy carrying 1,500 kits left Jonglei's capital Bor on Thursday.

An estimated 60,000 people have been affected by recent fighting in the worst outbreak of violence since South Sudan gained independence in July.

An 8,000-strong militia army from the Lou Nuer tribe recently marched on Pibor, home to the rival Murle people, whom they blame for abductions and cattle raiding.

Many people are now emerging from hiding after three weeks without food and clean water, the IOM said.

"Since the attack on Pibor emergency relief could only be airlifted into the town due to a combination of insecurity and the poor state of the roads," said spokesman Jean-Philippe Chauzy.

"The IOM convoy will be the first major relief assistance to reach the stricken town by road."

A helicopter provided by the UN mission in South Sudan, UNMISS, and stocked with a further 1,500 kits is expected to leave for Pibor "in the coming days", he said.

The World Food Programme said on Friday it wanted to send more helicopters to deliver supplies because of limited road access.

"Thousands of people who fled into the bush are beginning to emerge from the places they were hiding and go into villages where they feel safe," said WFP spokeswoman Gaelle Sevenier.

In all of the latest attacks in Jonglei, crops have been razed, cattle stolen and homes torched.

The state was one of the areas hardest hit in Sudan's two-decade-long north-south civil war, which ended in a 2005 peace deal that paved the way for South Sudan's full independence.