Cape Argus

Famine ravages S Sudan, Somalia

Politics blamed for humanitari­an crisis; 30 people die in 48 hours

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STARVATION is mounting in South Sudan and Somalia as political instabilit­y continues to contribute to the humanitari­an crisis in the region. Two counties in South Sudan’s Unity state – Mayendit and Leer – have been declared famine areas ahead of the arrival of the first vanguard of the UN Security Council-mandated Regional Protection Force.

In Somalia, Radio Mogadishu on Tuesday reported that at least 30 people had died of starvation in the southern region of Jubaland in the past 48 hours. The government-owned station said regional interior minister and drought committee chairman Abdirahman Mohamed Hussein announced the deaths.

He appealed for emergency aid to prevent further deaths from starvation.

Hussein’s appeal followed UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s warning earlier in the month that 6 million Somalis were at risk and in need of aid.

With the deployment of UN peacekeepe­rs to South Sudan’s capital, Juba, set to be stepped up in the next few weeks, the outgoing UN Under-Secretary-General for peacekeepi­ng operations in the country, Hervé Ladsous, warned that the situation there was extremely concerning.

He explained that the number of people fleeing the country showed no signs of slowing, adding that a political solution to the hostilitie­s was the only answer.

Earlier in the day, Ladsous said he had spoken with President Salva Kiir in what he described as a “good” meeting.

Among the topics discussed were the challenges to humanitari­an action, including impediment­s to getting clearances, as well as instances of aid workers killed or injured while on the job which the UN would help with.

Meanwhile, the needs in the country are greater than ever with Ladsous warning that the situation was “man-made” after several years of fighting and “was not going to improve” because it was now crop-planting season and all farmers were displaced or seeking refuge elsewhere.

Somalia is also facing a crippling drought that has decimated livestock and ruined crops, resulting in hundreds of people fleeing Jubaland and seeking refuge in the capital Mogadishu where some have been given food by locals.

Despite this, support, the aid received is insufficie­nt.

 ?? PICTURE: MACKENZIE KNOWLES-COURSIN/UNICEF VIA AP ?? DESPERATE: A young man walks his cattle across parched and burned former farmland on the outskirts of Aweil in South Sudan. On World Water Day yesterday, more than 5 million people in the country lacked access to safe, clean water, compoundin­g the...
PICTURE: MACKENZIE KNOWLES-COURSIN/UNICEF VIA AP DESPERATE: A young man walks his cattle across parched and burned former farmland on the outskirts of Aweil in South Sudan. On World Water Day yesterday, more than 5 million people in the country lacked access to safe, clean water, compoundin­g the...

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