JUBA, South Sudan
The UN humanitarian agency has strongly condemned brutal attacks on humanitarian aid workers in South Sudan’s Central Equatoria, an area that has been ravaged by attacks on civilian vehicles in the past
An international NGO convoy consisting of two
vehicles was ambushed by an unknown armed group in Abegi on the Yei-Lasu road
near Yei town on Monday.
The NGO, a UNHCR
partner, were on their way to the Lasu settlement hosting refugees from DRC and
Sudan to provide health, nutrition and hygiene services.
The UN Office
for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said those responsible should
be brought to justice, adding that the two vehicles, a van and an ambulance,
were carrying 15 passengers, 11 staff and four patients, at the time of the
attack.
“This is
unacceptable. I strongly condemn the unprovoked ambush on a convoy with both
vehicles clearly marked by the NGO logo on the van and a visible red cross on
the ambulance,” Olushayo Olu, acting humanitarian coordinator in South Sudan
said in a statement issued in Juba on Tuesday evening.
The UN agency
said the driver of the first vehicle was shot and injured yet managed to keep
driving and escape while the second vehicle, an ambulance, was forced to stop
and the passengers fled into nearby bush.
According to the
UN agency, reaching the most in need has become significantly more challenging
for humanitarians with the increase in sub-national violence in various areas
across the country.
The NGO has been using the route regularly without incident and the ambush will adversely impact the delivery of much-needed services to refugees at the settlement.
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