Response to people impacted by violence in Agok and Aneet - Situation Report No. 1 (As of 22 April 2022)

This report is produced by OCHA South Sudan on behalf of the Inter-Cluster Coordination Group (ICCG).

HIGHLIGHTS

• An estimated 100,000 people have been affected, including 70,000 displaced, by fighting in the Abyei Administrative Area since intercommunal clashes broke out on 10 February 2022, with an escalation of incidents in March.

• Over 40,000 people have been displaced to South Sudan’s Warrap and Northern Bahr el Ghazal states. Most of the displaced are stranded in the open. Others are staying with host communities.

• The fighting led to the suspension of humanitarian operations in the affected areas and the relocation of aid workers.
  Activities have since resumed but are being coordinated from central Abyei.

• The humanitarian situation of affected population is dire. People are in urgent need of protection, food and nutrition, shelter, non-food items, health, WASH and education services.

• The Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator has allocated US$10 million to address critical gaps.

SITUATION OVERVIEW

Inter-communal tensions have increased in the Abyei Administrative Area (AAA) over a long-standing territorial dispute, disrupting the lives and livelihoods of over 100,000 people, who are now in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. Fighting began on 10 February but intensified in early March, leading to the suspension of humanitarian operations in the affected areas and the relocation of aid workers to safety. Activities in AAA have since resumed but with limited capacity and are being coordinated from central Abyei.

The violent clashes forced people to flee to various locations in central and southern parts of the Abyei Administrative Area and to South Sudan’s Twic County (34,000 people) and Aweil East and West counties (6,000 people). While the exact number of people who have been displaced is yet to be confirmed, it is estimated that the number may be higher as certain areas are not accessible due to insecurity. The affected population is in critical need of protection, food and nutrition, shelter, non-food items, health, WASH and education services. Several families who arrived in Twic County reported gender-based violence (GBV) incidents, while others reported that their children went missing. During the clashes, public and private infrastructure were destroyed, and many settlements were looted.

Many of the displaced people who fled the violence are sheltering with host communities, particularly in AAA. The majority of those who fled to South Sudan are stranded under trees, or in huts made with sticks and plastic sheeting, or seeking refuge in public school buildings and churches. Some people who were initially displaced have returned to Agok town following the signing of the agreement “on the cessation of hostilities and to grant national government the chance to mediate and find a permanent solution to the conflict” between the two communities on 5 April. The return, however, is small scale.

Humanitarian partners operating in the area are mobilizing resources to assist the most vulnerable people. However, the needs of those displaced have overstretched the resources and capacities of the humanitarian organizations. With limited supplies and funding, the humanitarian situation is expected to deteriorate further as the rainy season approaches and most areas are prone to severe flooding. Authorities have advised people to relocate to higher grounds.

There is a limited number of partners operating in the targeted locations, and resources are being diverted from other emergencies in South Sudan to respond to the emergency in Twic, Aweil East and West counties. The Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator has allocated US$10 million, through the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), to address critical gaps and to support the most vulnerable.