A humanitarian worker was killed in the Greater Pibor Area on Monday, the latest in a series of incidents targeting humanitarians in South Sudan, a senior UN official said.
In a statement seen by Radio Tamazuj Friday, Acting Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan, Marie-Helene Verney condemned the incident and said the latest attack occurred on 6 November, when a South Sudanese national aid worker contracted by an international non-governmental organization was killed.
“The attack took place as a team of aid workers were on a field trip to respond to a suspected measles outbreak in Greater Pibor Administrative Area. One of the team members left for a community visit and was brutally killed,” she said.
“I convey my deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of this colleague – a nutrition officer who was going the extra mile so that the children of Boma, Greater Pibor Administrative Area, live to see the age of five, and who was killed in the line of duty. This deplorable act of violence is not unacceptable,” she added.
Marie-Helene Verney did not identify the aid worker killed.
The acting humanitarian coordinator said she is appalled by the continued violence targeting humanitarians and their assets. “Access constraints, bureaucratic impediments, the impact of ongoing violence and widespread criminality, and hamper the work of humanitarian actors across the country. For several years running, South Sudan has remained the most dangerous place for aid workers. This cannot continue,” she added.
She calls upon the South Sudanese authorities at national, state and local levels to safeguard the lives of civilians and humanitarians. “To armed actors and individuals, my message is clear: stop the violence and harassment of humanitarian actors or be prepared to see them leave. All forms of violence against civilians and humanitarians are unacceptable,” she stressed.
South Sudan is considered one of the most dangerous places for aid workers.
An estimated 9.4 million people—76 percent of the country’s population—are in need of humanitarian assistance this year, according to the United Nations.