Thousands displaced by armed violence and heavy flooding in South Sudan

JUBA, South Sudan

The recent armed violence in the Greater Jonglei region has forcibly uprooted thousands of people from their homes and left entire areas without access to medical care, while heavy flooding and the COVID-19 pandemic have made it more difficult for humanitarian organizations to deliver assistance, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a statement today.

 “After weeks of armed violence, the scale of the humanitarian impact on communities is emerging,” said Wolde-Gabriel Saugeron, head of ICRC’s sub-delegation in Bor. “Our teams started to carry out assessments in places we can safely access, but heavy rains and flooding made some areas very difficult to reach by land or air. We are deeply worried about the sick and injured who are going without care.” 

The humanitarian organization said it fears that those living in remote areas are at grave risk of malnutrition and disease, as some areas are impossible to reach due to flooding.

It further said people seeking refuge around Bor following armed violence and floods are also vulnerable to severe food insecurity and waterborne disease.

 “I am living with my children in an abandoned home,” said Athiong Manyok, 33, a mother of six, who lost her husband in the recent violence. “The house leaks when it rains and there are a lot of mosquitoes. I wash dishes at the market for me to raise something to enable me to buy food for my children. Now I have been made a widow because of this violence and I have to start learning a new way of living without my husband.”

“Between 6 and 12 of August, the ICRC and the South Sudan Red Cross (SSRC) provided blankets, sleeping mats, mosquito nets, buckets, kitchen sets, tarpaulins and soap to 840 families in Bor town. Most of them were women, children, and the elderly who fled attacks in Twic East, Duk and South Bor areas of Jonglei State and sought shelter in public spaces such as churches and schools in Bor town,” the statement reads in part.

“I saw women and children lying dead in the market, said Garang Aruong Akech, 60, who fled his village with his family to Bor town. “We walked in the water for seven days with nothing to eat before reaching Bor.”

The ICRC said its health facilities in Akobo and Juba have cared for 86 patients suffering from gunshot wounds since June despite limitations created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The bed-capacity in both hospitals’ surgical wards have been reduced to follow physical distancing guidelines. This reduces the number of patients that can be admitted into the wards at any given time,” it explained.

The wide scale flooding on top of weeks of armed violence prompted the government on 13 August to announce a state of emergency in Jonglei State and Greater Pibor Administrative Area.

 The ICRC said it plans to continue assessments to see how best to address humanitarian needs in the coming weeks to help communities hit by both clashes and floods meet their day-to-day needs.