Groups to aid S. Sudan
Relief to be sent to refugees affected by cross-border unrest
JUBA: Aid groups are mounting a “major emergency operation” in rural South Sudan after tribe-on-tribe violence sent tens of thousands of people fleeing and killed an unknown number of people, the United Nations said.
The UN humanitarian coordinator in South Sudan, Lise Grande, said on Saturday that aid groups were responding to a call for help from South Sudan’s central government after a column of 6,000 armed men from the Lou Nuer ethnic group marched into Pibor in Jonglei state to target the Murle community in late December and early January.
The United Nations said that three whole villages were burned to the ground. Aid groups had evacuated 140 people who were wounded.
Neither the central government or the United Nations had been able to give a death toll. The Juba-based central government said it was launching an investigation. A government official in Jonglei said that thousands of people were killed but that number had not been corroborated.
Aid groups estimated that 60,000 people had been affected by the violence. Tens of thousands fled their homes and urgent needs include high-nutritional food, clean water, healthcare and shelter, the United Nations said.
“This emergency operation is going to be one of the most complex and expensive in South Sudan since the comprehensive peace agreement was signed in 2005,” Grande said, adding that most areas that need to be reached can only be reached by air.
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement was the peace deal that ended decades of war between Sudan and South Sudan.
“Delivering assistance by air is hugely expensive compared to delivery by road. Unfortunately, in the areas affected in Jonglei, we don’t have a choice,” she said.
The Red Cross said earlier this month it was trying to reconnect 150 young children with their missing parents after tens of thousands of residents of South Sudan ran into the bush while fleeing the impending attack.
Many of those parents are feared to be dead. — AP