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Aid delivery suspended in S. Sudanese county over insecurity

Xinhua, March 28, 2017 Adjust font size:

Aid agencies have been forced to temporarily suspend services in the famine and cholera-hit South Sudanese county of Mayendit over incidents of violence against aid workers, the United Nations said Tuesday.

Mayendit, located about 680 km northeast of the capital of Juba, is where the UN in February declared famine, which has left100,000 people starving and another 1 million on the brink of starvation.

The United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said humanitarian supplies were reportedly looted in recent clashes by armed personnel in different locations in the county.

"Negotiations are ongoing to ensure that credible assurances are received regarding the safety and security of aid workers and assets ahead of the return of humanitarians to the area," OCHA said in its latest bulletin.

During fighting in Mayendit town on March 10, local staff of an international non-governmental organization were detained by non-state armed actors and later released on March 14.

Aid workers were initially relocated from Mayendit town on Feb. 26, disrupting vital health, WASH and nutrition services.

According to the UN, at least 79 aid workers have been killed in South Sudan since the beginning of the December 2013 crisis, including at least 12 killed since the start of this year.

Under International Humanitarian Law, intentional attacks against humanitarian relief personnel may constitute war crimes. Endit