Imatong State has seen burnt homes and looting during past fighting, a humanitarian agency said in a press release from late last month, adding to accounts of how conflict has affected the Equitoria region’s harvest.
Torit, Ikwoto, and Magwi towns have seen large displacement, burnt, and looted homes, CARE said. Because of population displacement and fighting, there has been food shortages in the area.
“Fighting means people can’t access their fields to tend and harvest crops and many households have had their crops destroyed and livestock killed,” CARE South Sudan’s Country Director Fred McCray said.
Since fighting in the capital of Juba, the Equitorias region has seen significant clashes between the government and opposition. It is all the more destabilizing for the country because the region, which did not see fighting during the last round of conflict, was considered the breadbasket of the country.
“Many families are now living with relatives as they don’t feel safe to return home, or they no longer have a home to return to. This is putting an extra strain on household resources and space, as most people fled with nothing,” McCray said. “Others still are choosing to live in caves in the hills or out in their fields because of the continuing fear of attacks.”