The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has strongly condemned the recent attack on a convoy carrying humanitarian supplies and again called on the government to bring the perpetrators of these attacks to justice and to safeguard the safety and security of humanitarian staff and assets, a press release of Friday evening said.
On 24 March, a commercial convoy of 44 trucks carrying WFP food assistance came under attack from armed gunmen between Gadiang and Yuai in Jonglei State. This is the third ambush in Jonglei State in the past four months.
Three people on the convoy were killed during the attack and another was injured, according to WFP.
“This is completely unacceptable,” said Adeyinka Badejo, acting Country Director for WFP in South Sudan. “These continued attacks and looting only serve to make humanitarian work increasingly challenging and sabotage life-saving food assistance destined for vulnerable communities.”
“Further attacks on humanitarian convoys will put humanitarian assistance at risk where WFP will be forced to suspend its food assistance in greater Jonglei until there is a conducive environment for humanitarians in the area,” he cautioned.
WFP said it has invested considerable efforts to negotiate humanitarian access in hard-to-reach areas to ensure isolated and marginalized people receive the assistance they need.
“However, it is first and foremost the Government’s responsibility to ensure safety and security for the population and the humanitarian community,” the press release read. “WFP once again calls on the government to investigate each incident where humanitarian workers and/or cargo have been targeted, including one in March 2022 and one in December 2021.”
“Only by bringing the perpetrators to justice and ensuring respect for humanitarian operations will WFP and its partners be able to effectively assist the people of South Sudan,” the statement concluded.