Local authorities in Ayod County of Jonglei State have apologized to the U.S. Embassy following a recent incident involving a humanitarian worker and said they remain committed to supporting humanitarian operations in the county.
Last Thursday, the United States, a major donor to South Sudan, suspended assistance to Ayod County, citing interference, exploitation and theft by officials targeting American-funded aid programs.
According to the U.S. Embassy, the decision followed a Jan. 2, 2026, incident in which the Ayod County commissioner allegedly detained a humanitarian worker for refusing to surrender assets belonging to a U.S. assistance partner.
However, the accused county commissioner, James Chuol Jiek, told Radio Tamazuj on Wednesday that he did not order any arrest and said the suspension of aid by the U.S. Embassy came as a surprise. He said the county authorities have since apologized to the U.S. Embassy in Juba.
The commissioner said county officials were acting in good faith on Jan. 2 to protect humanitarian workers amid ongoing violence in the area.
“There was a communication for evacuation of aid workers supporting road construction work near our border with Uror, where SSPDF and SPLA-IO forces have been fighting,” he said. “To get there, one police officer approached an aid worker to get his motorbike, resulting in an altercation. However, the issue was quickly resolved. I was not involved and no one was detained.”
Meanwhile, Kuac Biliu, the Ayod County Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC) coordinator, described the incident as unfortunate and said an apology has been submitted to the U.S. Embassy, appealing for the suspension to be reconsidered.
“The incident involved an aid worker with IMA and an unauthorized police officer,” he said. “The police officer, while looking for a motorbike to inform road construction workers in Paluony to evacuate, approached the aid worker, resulting in an altercation. The aid worker’s motorbike had a puncture, was not taken, and he was not arrested. I even intervened and asked the police officer to hire a motorbike and leave the aid worker alone.”
He added: “We treated the incident as a minor one because it was resolved immediately. It is unfortunate that humanitarian services benefiting the community were suspended because of one person who was not authorized and was not acting on behalf of the government. So we apologize to the U.S. Embassy and appeal that they reconsider their decision.”
The apology by local officials follows a denial by South Sudan’s foreign ministry last week, which dismissed what it described as unfounded allegations that the government was obstructing humanitarian assistance, in response to the United States’ suspension of aid to the area.
Speaking to journalists, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ambassador Thomas Kenneth Elisapana said the U.S. claims were unsubstantiated.
South Sudan is one of the world’s most severe humanitarian emergencies, with the majority of its population relying on international assistance for survival.