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UN relief chief to visit South Sudan

Xinhua, July 30, 2016 Adjust font size:

The UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, Stephen O'Brien, will visit South Sudan on Aug. 1-3 to see at first hand the humanitarian situation and call for urgent action to alleviate suffering in the world's youngest country, the United Nations announced here Friday.

During the three-day mission, O'Brien is expected to meet with people affected by the humanitarian crisis, senior government officials and humanitarian partners, Farhan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman, said at a daily news briefing here.

The upcoming visit will take place as tens of thousands of civilians have been displaced after recent fighting in Juba and Wau in South Sudan.

"There is escalating food insecurity and malnutrition across the country, and a cholera outbreak has erupted in Juba and Jonglei," Haq said.

UN officials said that the situation in South Sudan remains fluid and uncertain. The clashes between government and opposition forces took place in the capital Juba early this month, leaving some 272 people dead, including 33 civilians.

The country again plunged into conflict in December 2013 after President Salva Kiir accused his deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup, which the latter denied, leading to a cycle of retaliatory killings. Endit