The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in South Sudan has said fighting by armed factions in Tonga town of Upper Nile State has triggered mass displacement there, a press release said on Thursday.
The Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan, Ms. Sara Beysolow Nyanti conducted a mission to Adidyang and Malakal on 28-29 August to see for herself the impact of the violent clashes that have triggered large-scale displacement and exacerbated an already dire humanitarian situation, OCHA said.
Thousands of people have been displaced across many areas of Upper Nile, Jonglei, and Unity states since mid-August following heavy fighting between armed factions in Tonga town and neighboring areas in Panyikang County, Upper Nile State, according to the UN.
“The situation is very dynamic. Some people are moving from location to location with little to nothing, and with no food,” said OCHA’s Nyanti while speaking from Adidyang where she and the accompanying delegation met with the host community and the newly displaced people.
Affected women, youth, and the elderly shared their harrowing stories of fleeing the violence and being separated from their loved ones.
“We have nightmares, we cannot sleep at night. We cannot even eat because we are in constant fear,” explained one member of the newly displaced community.
According to OCHA, humanitarian partners have swiftly mobilized available resources and provided life-saving assistance to meet urgent needs. Despite these efforts, the response remains constrained due to limited funding, access impediments, and insecurity.
“Deliveries of humanitarian supplies with barge movements are impacted by insecurity,” Nyanti said, urging for unimpeded access to all those in need. “Various entities moving along the supply routes are faced with illegal taxation at checkpoints.”
OCHA said humanitarians are working across sectors to provide the much-needed support planned for some 18,000 to 21,000 vulnerable people in the next two months with shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene, protection, health, food, and nutrition services.
According to the UN, some 6.8 million of the most vulnerable people in South Sudan need urgent life-saving assistance and protection in 2022 and the country continues to be the most violent context for aid workers, followed by Afghanistan and Syria.
Since the beginning of 2022, five humanitarian workers have been killed in South Sudan in the line of duty.