21 November 2014 Concluding a three-day mission to South Sudan, a senior United Nations relief official has called on all parties to the conflict there to respect their ceasefire commitments, while urging the international community to continue providing support to enable humanitarians to scale up and expand critical aid operations.
In a press release[1] issued today by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA[2]), Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Kyung-wha Kang, noted that while the humanitarian community has reached more than 3.5 million people with assistance this year, the situation in South Sudan remains “bleak” and the number of people who are severely food insecure is projected to increase to 2.5 million in early 2015.
“The level of violence experienced by civilians in South Sudan has been devastating,” Ms. Kang said. “I was here a year ago and I am heartbroken to see that the promising young country that I saw is suffering so greatly. The scale of the needs is great,” she added.
Emphasizing that the year-long conflict has been “brutal,” she recounted that more than 1.9 million people have fled their homes and more than 100,000 have sought refuge in UN bases. In addition, civilians have been killed, raped and beaten; homes have been torched; and fighting has destroyed communities and separated families, Ms. Kang said.
“However much we scale up our operations, we will never be able to do enough if the conflict continues to destroy lives and livelihoods. All parties to the conflict must show leadership and bring peace to this country,” Ms. Kang stressed.
Meanwhile, aid agencies are planning for next year, and are urgently calling for $600 million by February, the humanitarian official said.
“In the dry season, we need to pre-position life-saving and livelihood supplies to reach all people in need, and carry out key repairs to roads and airstrips so that we can scale up and expand the aid operation,” she noted.
During her trip to South Sudan, Ms. Kang said she visited communities affected by the crisis in Juba and Jonglei State. She also met with Government representatives and humanitarian partners to discuss ways of improving access and strengthening protection of civilians.
In addition, Ms. Kang noted that she had urged parties to respect international humanitarian and human rights laws that call for the protection of civilians and unhindered humanitarian access to people in need.
Political in-fighting between South Sudan President Salva Kiir and his former deputy, Riek Machar, started in mid-December 2013 and subsequently turned into a full-fledged conflict that has sent nearly 100,000 civilians fleeing to UNMISS bases around the country. The crisis has uprooted some 1.5 million people and placed more than 7 million at risk of hunger and disease.
References
- ^ press release (reliefweb.int)
- ^ OCHA (www.unocha.org)
Source http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=49408
Newer articles:
- South Sudan: 60 Civilians Injured in Fighting Near UN Base - 23/11/2014 11:07
- Egypt, South Sudan sign water cooperation agreement - 23/11/2014 06:51
- South Sudan: ‘No Alternative to Silencing the Guns,’ - 23/11/2014 04:49
- South Sudan Seeks to Combat Sexual Violence - 22/11/2014 23:25
- W. Bahr el Ghazal beefs up security ahead of Christmas - 22/11/2014 07:06
Older news items
- Runner begs for cash to fly S.Sudan flag at Olympics - 21/11/2014 11:11
- South Sudanese immigrants strive to rebuild trust amid ethnic violence back home - 20/11/2014 22:45
- UN pleads for release of abducted staff in South Sudan - 20/11/2014 13:30
- S. Sudan denies reports of oil leak in Unity state - 20/11/2014 07:06
- Wildlife devastation in South Sudan war 'alarming' - 19/11/2014 10:51
Latest news items (all categories):
- South Sudan needs ‘civic education’ before elections, says bishop - 16/01/2025 16:42
- South Sudan parties set to resume peace talks in Kenya - 16/01/2025 16:39
- Abandoned but not forgotten – the invisible crisis in South Sudan - 16/01/2025 16:35
- The SAF has committed barbaric atrocities against South Sudanese refugees in Wad Medani - 16/01/2025 16:27
- Syria 2025: The historical Syrian project: From revolution to a modern inclusive civil state - 16/01/2025 16:10
Random articles (all categories):
- Will South Sudan finally be able to clinch lasting peace in 100 days? - 14/11/2019 02:36
- EU launches €208M development program in South Sudan - 18/02/2022 01:03
- South Sudan - CCCM Cluster: Situation Report | April 2021 - 09/06/2021 13:17
- South Sudanese health workers hail start of COVID-19 vaccination - 09/04/2021 11:13
- Urgent Call to Prioritize National Interest Over Personal Gain – Let it be known - 25/08/2024 17:28
Popular articles:
- Who is the darkest person in the world, according to Guinness World Record? - 25/10/2022 02:34 - Read 61672 times
- No oil in troubled waters - 25/03/2014 15:02 - Read 22306 times
- School exam results in South Sudan show decline - 01/04/2012 17:58 - Read 21492 times
- NDSU student from South Sudan receives scholarship - In-Forum - 29/09/2012 01:44 - Read 19060 times
- Top 10 weakest currency exchange rates in Africa in 2023 - 19/07/2023 00:24 - Read 18794 times