South Sudanese road constructors have been bringing fuel supplies to Pariang County in northern Unity State by air, after insecurity and poor roads cut off deliveries of fuel supplies.
Pariang County is controlled by the SPLA-Juba faction, while neighboring counties to the south are contested by the rival SPLA-IO. Even before the latest clashes in the state capital Bentiu, the county was largely cut off.
Engineer Simon Monyluak, speaking to Radio Tamazuj last Sunday said, “Our challenge is fuel, but we can’t blame anybody… We are transporting by air. And the air [route] just brings limited fuel, we cannot get enough to be able to use it for a week. So we transport three times in a week.”
He said transporting fuel by air was costly: “The cost of the fuel is three times than before… so it’s not easy for the contractor and it’s not easy for the client, which is the company who contracted us.”
Simon did not specify the client for which his company was working, but mentioned that it is an oil company.
He said they planned to repair the Pariang-Yida road within a week, then work on a 10 km stretch along the Pariang-Tor road.
Photo (above): Areas of control in northern Unity State; shaded purple/green areas indicate rebel-contested areas (Small Arms Survey)
Photo (below): Road construction equipment in Pariang, October 2014