The UN denounces an increase in violence against humanitarian workers in South Sudan

Sep. 30 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The United Nations has condemned this Friday the deterioration of the working conditions of humanitarian workers in South Sudan, where three of them have been killed this month alone: ​​in Jonglei state on September 9, another in Unity state on September 19 this month and a third in Guit County.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has lamented that, since the beginning of 2022, eight humanitarian workers have been killed while carrying out their work.

In addition, as of August 31, OCHA has received reports of 275 incidents of humanitarian access restrictions, of which 141 involved violence against humanitarian personnel and goods. The highest number of incidents was recorded in the states of Jonglei, Central Equatoria and Unity.

The OCHA denounces a chain of crises in the African country, one of the poorest in the world, which has ended in massive displacement, with the consequent difficulty for humanitarian workers to “respond to the urgent needs of the affected communities, while insecurity continues to affect their efforts, forcing staff members to relocate and suspend deliveries” of aid.

“People in South Sudan live in insecurity and a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis, and those who work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of the most vulnerable continue to lose their lives,” said the OCHA coordinator in South Sudan. , Sara Beysolow Nyanti, before giving her condolences to the families of the deceased.

“As humanitarian actors in South Sudan, both national and international, we call on the armed people and the respective authorities to safeguard the lives of civilians and humanitarian workers. We condemn in the strongest terms all forms of violence against civilians. and humanitarian workers,” he added.