This map illustrates satellite-detected areas of IDP structures and structures in Wau Shilluk, Upper Nile State, South Sudan using WorldView-02 data recorded 17 February 2014 and 06 December 2013. An estimated 1,157 new shelters have been detected between 06 December 2013 and 17 February 2014 along the White Nile River. This is a preliminary analysis & has not yet been validated in the field. Please send ground feedback to UNITAR / UNOSAT.
South Sudan: IDP Structures in Wau Shilluk, Upper Nile State, South Sudan (as of 24 February 2014)
South Sudan: Malakal, site of recent clashes, ‘tense, deserted,’ UN peacekeepers report
24 February 2014 – The South Sudanese city of Malakal is looted and burned, with more than 100 bodies scattered along the route, United Nations peacekeepers in the country reported today.
UNMISS, the UN Mission, conducted multiple patrols over the weekend to the capital of the Upper Nile state where the situation is said to be “tense.”
According to information from a UN spokesperson in New York, the Mission visited various civilian sites in the town, including churches and a hospital.
“At the Malakal Teaching Hospital, the patrol observed approximately 100 patients, most of whom were wounded or sick,” the spokesperson said.
It added that UNMISS extracted 13 patients “requiring urgent medical attention” to its hospital within the Malakal base where it continues to protect some 22,000 civilians. More than 50,000 other people are seeking refuge at UN bases throughout the country after violence flared up in mid-December between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and former deputy president Riek Machar.
A report released Friday by UNMISS outlines some of the human rights abuses committed by both sides since 15 December, including rapes, mass killings and torture, and warned that civilians in the world’s youngest nation continue to be targeted.
The report notes that large numbers of civilians were deliberately targeted and killed along ethnic lines and many more were displaced for similar reasons.
South Sudan: Local leaders learn about community policing
20 February 2014 - Seeking reduce crime, UNPOL and the South Sudanese police organized a training for the newly established Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) today in Cuei-Cok, south of the Lakes State capital Rumbek.
The training focused on cooperation between the South Sudan National Police Service (SSNPS) and the community in preventing crime.
“The Committee can help in avoiding crises by reporting problems to the police,” said Committee Chairperson Elijah Machar Apach.
The PCRC has been set up because the area has an insufficient number of police officers, according to UNPOL Community Policing Coordinator Siaka Kamara. “That is why the police needs to partner with the community -- to prevent crimes together.”
Made up solely of civilians, the PCRC in Cuei-Cok consists of 42 community leaders from three different bomas (town areas). It will work with police to prevent crime by reporting any problems in the community.
Community leaders will meet on a regular basis to discuss problems in the payam, and will alert police about any incidents. The cooperation is meant to build trust through a better relationship between police and community. SSNPS Officer Peter Woll Mayon outlined different challenges in Cuei-Cok.
“Our main problems are cattle raiding, adultery and elopement,” he said. “It is good that the Committee has been established. The community will report to us what is going (on), and together we can solve the problems.”
South Sudan: Western Equatoria budget rises by 40 million pounds
19 February 2014 - Western Equatoria State unanimously passed an annual budget today of over 170 million South Sudanese pounds (about $60 million) for the fiscal year 2013-2014.
Speaking during the Legislative Assembly sitting, Western Equatoria State Minister of Finance John Russie said the budget had risen by over 40 South Sudanese pounds compared to last year, with more funds for community services and government works.
He said the austerity budget would continue but be gradually lifted if revenues increased to top up oil revenue coming the national government. More developmental activities were expected from the state down to payam (district) levels when the budget was implemented.
Legislative Assembly Speaker Bage James Elisa said anyone who exceeded his/her budget ceiling or misused public funds would be punished with imprisonment of ten years.
The security situation in Western Equatoria State has remained calm after conflict erupted in Juba on 15 December between government and opposition forces and rapidly spread to several other states.
At least 10,000 are estimated to have lost their lives and almost a million forced out of their homes. Western Equatoria has been declared a “green state” for its peacefulness and good security situation.
South Sudan: South Sudan Crisis Monitoring February 19, 2014
Regular FEWS NET South Sudan monthly outlook reporting has been suspended due to the current crisis; FEWS NET will continue monitoring the food security situation and post periodic updates while the crisis is ongoing.
Current Situation
Intermittent fighting has continued even after the government of South Sudan and the opposition signed a ceasefire on January 23, 2014. The government has released seven of the 11 political detainees allied with Riek Machar, the former Vice President of South Sudan and leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM)-in-Opposition. A second round of talks started in Addis Ababa on February 10, although this has resulted in little progress to date.
Fighting in late January in the oil-producing states of Unity and Upper Nile has significantly affected oil output, with an estimated reduction in daily oil production by 20 percent compared to November 2013 (prior to the outbreak of conflict). Further reductions are likely, as security conditions are deteriorating in these areas and many oil workers have left.
Ethiopia: IOM Ethiopia Starts Boat Relocation of South Sudan Refugees from Akobo-Tergol to Pugnido
IOM Ethiopia last week safely relocated 425 South Sudanese refugees by boat and bus from Akobo-Tergol to Pugnido camp in Gambella region 430 km away.
The two-day journey for the ethnic Anuak refugees included a nine-hour, 130 km boat trip from Tergol to Burbeiy and an overnight stay en route.
IOM will organize similar movements using the same route for ethnic Nuer refugees also stranded in Akobo-Tergol. The Nuer will be moved to Lietchuor camp, to reduce the risk of conflict between the two groups.
UNHCR has currently registered 10,000 South Sudanese refugees at Akobo-Tergol, where the Akobo river marks the border between South Sudan and Ethiopia. This figure could rise to over 12,000, according to IOM staff on the ground.
Refugees at Akobo-Tergol told IOM that they face a desperate situation if they stay. “At first, we were given some food assistance, but that is finished now. We are now going to the woods to fetch wild fruit to feed our children. Some of us are fetching fire wood and selling it in exchange for food. But that is not enough. Most of us are just scraping by on one meal a day,” said one refugee.
Lietchuor and Pugnido camps can currently accommodate a total of 60,000 refugees. This will rise to 80,000 when Lietchuor camp’s capacity is expanded from 20,000 to 40,000.
Refugees fleeing to Ethiopia from South Sudan are mainly leaving Nasir and Malakal and using the Akobo Tergol and Pagak entry points into Ethiopia’s Gambella region.
IOM Ethiopia has now provided transportation for a total of 11,827 South Sudan refugees to date.
For more information please contact Alemayehu Seife-Selassie at IOM Addis Ababa, Email salemayehu@iom.int, Tel: +251930098527
Democratic Republic of the Congo: DR Congo UNHCR Fact Sheet 31 January 2014
UNHCR operational highlights
A top ranking UNHCR - UNICEF - WFP mission visited the DRC from 21 to 25 January 2014. UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, Janet Lim, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, Yoka Brandt and WFP Deputy Executive Director, Ramiro Lopes da Silva came to increase global attention to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the country. The three senior UN Officials visited programs in Province Orientale, North Kivu and Equateur Province and met DRC authorities, humanitarian partners and conflict-affected populations.
Syrian Arab Republic: Global Emergency Overview Snapshot 18 - 25 February
Syria: Violence is ongoing across the country, with further government bombardments in the southeastern governorates of Damascus and Dara’a. To date, an estimated 2.5 million people have crossed into neighbouring countries, while 6.5 million are now internally displaced. In a separate development, the UN Security Council adopted a non-binding resolution to boost humanitarian access to Syria as increasing security incidents at the Turkish border threaten to compromise access to the north of the country.
Iraq: Fighting between government troops and Sunni Islamist militants in Anbar province is ongoing and spreading to the central-southern and northern regions. The clashes have displaced over 430,000 people internally, while thousands remain in siege-like conditions in rebel-held towns where humanitarian access is heavily curtailed. Despite a three-day pause in military operations, imposed by the authorities, violence has reignited and expectations are low regarding the possibility of negotiations between the Iraqi government and the insurgents.
Nigeria: Ongoing attacks by Boko Haram Islamist insurgents continue to constrain access to the northeast of the country and to triggered further population displacement. To date, over 470,000 people are now displaced across the country – more than half of them originating from the three northeast states currently under a State of Emergency. Meanwhile, Nigeria closed its border with Cameroon’s Far North Region due to concerns about cross-border insurgent movement and the flow of weapons into the area.
Pakistan: As the peace talks between the Governement and the Taliban continue to falter, the Pakistani military launched a large-scale operation against militants’ strongholds in North Waziristan along the country’s tribal belt bordering Afghanistan. Daily airstrikes are currently being reported from the area, with at least 120 militants killed, according to security sources. Access to the area remains heavily curtailed and no information is available on possible civilian casualties and numbers of displaced.
Updated: 25/02/2014 Next Update: 04/03/2014
World: Global Emergency Overview Snapshot 18 - 25 February
Syria: Violence is ongoing across the country, with further government bombardments in the southeastern governorates of Damascus and Dara’a. To date, an estimated 2.5 million people have crossed into neighbouring countries, while 6.5 million are now internally displaced. In a separate development, the UN Security Council adopted a non-binding resolution to boost humanitarian access to Syria as increasing security incidents at the Turkish border threaten to compromise access to the north of the country.
Iraq: Fighting between government troops and Sunni Islamist militants in Anbar province is ongoing and spreading to the central-southern and northern regions. The clashes have displaced over 430,000 people internally, while thousands remain in siege-like conditions in rebel-held towns where humanitarian access is heavily curtailed. Despite a three-day pause in military operations, imposed by the authorities, violence has reignited and expectations are low regarding the possibility of negotiations between the Iraqi government and the insurgents.
Nigeria: Ongoing attacks by Boko Haram Islamist insurgents continue to constrain access to the northeast of the country and to triggered further population displacement. To date, over 470,000 people are now displaced across the country – more than half of them originating from the three northeast states currently under a State of Emergency. Meanwhile, Nigeria closed its border with Cameroon’s Far North Region due to concerns about cross-border insurgent movement and the flow of weapons into the area.
Pakistan: As the peace talks between the Governement and the Taliban continue to falter, the Pakistani military launched a large-scale operation against militants’ strongholds in North Waziristan along the country’s tribal belt bordering Afghanistan. Daily airstrikes are currently being reported from the area, with at least 120 militants killed, according to security sources. Access to the area remains heavily curtailed and no information is available on possible civilian casualties and numbers of displaced.
Updated: 25/02/2014 Next Update: 04/03/2014
South Sudan: South Sudan Crisis Situation report as of 24 February 2014 Report number 22
Highlights
An estimated 710,600 people have been displaced inside South Sudan since the conflict started in December. Another 171,000 people have fled to neighbouring countries.
Response operation continued in Malakal, despite heavy fighting on 18 February threatening to disrupt aid activities. Partners maintained critical staff in Malakal to ensure response operation to over 20,000 people sheltering within the UN base.
A measles vaccination campaign was completed in Walgak, Jonglei State reaching 10,150 children, while in Minkaman, Lakes State, 16,650 people received oral cholera vaccines.
The Crisis Response Plan is 20 per cent funded. $748 million of the $1.27 billion total requirement by June is urgently needed to enable pre-positioning of lifesaving supplies ahead of the rains in March, when 60 per cent of the country becomes inaccessible by road.
South Sudan: Fear persists among South Sudan’s displaced
RUMBEK, 25 February 2014 (IRIN) - The 101 civilians holed up in two large tents and a washroom block in a UN base in the South Sudan city of Rumbek may form one of the smallest such groups now protected by peacekeepers, but their conditions and fears are typical of the 75,000 people now living in such bases across the country.
"We haven't faced this before," said Rejoice Chan, who works as a recovery, reintegration and peacebuilding officer for the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
Around a dozen armoured personnel carriers and trucks form a three-metre-high wall on one side of the camp. Rocks have been thrown by the host community at the IDPs on two occasions. The trucks act as a barrier and a deterrent. "They think there's someone inside," a camp resident said.
The UN here is doing what it can - providing protection and limited medical assistance and shelter, as well as advice to IDPs, and is coordinating assistance - but it is not a permanent solution. "We're not a humanitarian organization, we're peacekeepers," Chan said.
Klaus Steiglitz, vice-chairman of Sign of Hope, an international humanitarian organization, likens the conflict to pulling at the thread that holds the social fabric of South Sudan together. "Where we had integration of different tribes in a city, now, as the conflict breaks out, disintegration takes place," he said.
Nuer students who had chosen to study in Rumbek now only feel safe with UN protection in this predominantly Dinka town.
A number of the IDPs in Rumbek were serving as police officers on the border with Warrap, another predominantly Dinka state, when the crisis began. David Kiuch, one of the police officers, says he was disarmed by his superiors on grounds of ethnicity. When quarrels broke out between members of the two ethnic groups and those who were still armed shot three people, he and the rest of the Nuers fled, he says. Authorities picked them up and delivered them to Rumbek police, before they brought them here.
Mary Nyataba, 28, a Nuer from Bentiu, was passing through Lakes State on a bus when the crisis hit. She immediately got off the bus and got a motorbike driver to take her to the nearest UNMISS base. "I don't know anyone here in Rumbek," she said.
Insecurity and fear has radiated across the country, dividing South Sudan's two largest ethnic groups. On 18 December over 100 Nuer people arrived at the UNMISS base in the town of Rumbek. They had heard that the UN would guarantee their safety. In accordance with their mandate to protect civilians, UNMISS let them in.
High levels of diarrhoea
Two months later, they are nearly all still here. With more peacekeepers due to come in, space is an issue. Sanitation is challenging: there is no hand-washing facility outside the latrines and UNMISS doctors are complaining of high levels of diarrhoea. Residents say that many do not have mosquito nets. With only two large tents, one for men and one for women, many are forced to sleep outside. Charcoal and firewood are scarce.
The World Food Programme is currently providing food. They have classified it as an emergency, but that means their support can last for a maximum of three months, according to UN officials in Rumbek. After that, camp organizers do not know what will happen. "UNMISS is not in a position to provide," Chan said.
The situation is untenable but solutions are not forthcoming. Forty-nine people have requested to go back to Bentiu.
Nyakuma Wuor, 24, is feeling the pressure of confinement, having been stuck in this 100sqm area for two months now. She says she would be happy to hear of transport to Bentiu, despite reports of fighting there. She has not heard from her husband since the crisis started but believes her six-year-old child is in Bentiu with the child's grandmother. "We need schools," she said. "I'm sick of this situation. You feel isolated and bored staying in one place. I'm not happy or comfortable at all."
“In Juba it's worse than here”
More than 20 people have requested transport to Juba, a move that UNMISS officials have strongly cautioned against. The UN now has 30,000 people living in its two military bases in the capital. Conditions are dire and the rainy season in April fast approaching. "Juba is more chaotic than here. In Juba it's worse than here, even though here there's nothing at all," said Chan.
The governor of Lakes State has tried to make the Nuers feel safe, local members of the IDP camp committee say. But the governor's words do not translate into reality on the ground, according to residents. Samuel Lam, a representative for the Rumbek IDPs, said one woman was tied to a chair in the central market for nothing more than speaking the Nuer language. Civilians called the police, who detained and investigated her for an hour. Since that incident, all camp residents going into town, either to grind maize or purchase essential goods, do so under the escort of the Non-violent Peace Force, a US peace-building organization .
This is working well, Lam says. He is a first-year economics student at the University of Rumbek. Classes resumed in mid-February but he is not ready to go back. For now, he is keeping himself busy by giving lessons to younger students. He said he is pinning his hopes on peace talks in Addis Ababa. "The country is in a dilemma," he said.
Clashes
Across the country, tens of thousands of people trapped in bases are waiting, and tensions among them are simmering. In January, senior UN Human Rights official Ivan Simonovic called it "unprecedented" that the UN has opened up its bases to people in need to such a degree. Nationwide, there are now around 75,000 civilians in UN bases around the country.
Bases housing people from more than one ethnic group are faced with the challenge of controlling interethnic clashes as they arise. In Malakal, the UN has reported clashes within a compound in which 21,568 are sheltering. While fighting raged outside the base, tensions reached boiling point inside. "Simultaneously, inter-communal clashes flared up within the Protection of Civilians site [...] which also came under cross fire," a report from UNMISS said.
The situation was contained by UNMISS troops and Formed Police Units, but casualties were sustained. Ten people died in the UNMISS hospital from injuries received both within the compound, and from clashes in the Protection of Civilians area. “Fighting outside the compound compelled UNMISS troops to concentrate on protecting the perimeter of the camp from this external threat. Violence then re-erupted in the Protection of Civilians area within the UNMISS compound," the UNMISS statement said.
Air evacuation from UN bases will not be possible unless civilians are under imminent threat, according to Chan. The Rumbek IDPs have requested that the government relocate them. "The request was rejected by the government because Lakes [State] is calm," one said. Calm or not, their fear and perception of a threat is incontestable.
The UN is calling on all parties to respect the ceasefire agreement. Altogether in South Sudan, 872,900 people have now been displaced, according to a UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs update of 17 February. The crisis response plan is only 18.5 percent funded, leaving a shortfall of US$1.04 billion. The rainy season is due to start in less than two months. Addressing the question of what to do with those inside UN bases is becoming critical.
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South Sudan: Video: Produced in South Sudan
During the 2014 Annual Consultation, P4P partner Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) showed this video, which illustrates their collaboration with P4P in South Sudan. This partnership demonstrates how WFP’s demand can synergize efforts already being carried out by development partners such as GIZ, who train smallholders to improve the quantity and quality of their yields.
“It is a win-win situation because GIZ is now assured that the excess production that they are supporting enters into a market. And it is a win-win situation for WFP because we are assured that there is actually surplus to buy because GIZ is supporting the farmers. And the farmers win because now they have an assured market, they have more income and they are becoming more resilient in their lives,” says Emmanuela Mashayo, P4P country coordinator in South Sudan.
Uganda: Fleeing and forgotten – South Sudanese refugees in Uganda
Oxfam media officer Geno Teofilo reports on urgent humanitarian needs – including shelter from the upcoming rainy season – during a visit to South Sudanese refugee centers in northern Uganda.
I spent much of last weekend in refugee camps in northern Uganda, where South Sudanese families who have fled the conflict in their young country are sheltering. Refugees continue to cross the border, though not in the massive exodus as before. According to differing UN and NGO sources, estimates are that 50 – 150 refugees per day continue to arrive in northern Uganda. Some are avoiding border posts and entering through other routes. Since the fighting began in South Sudan, the total number has risen to over 69,000 refugees in Uganda.
'We need shelter'
The new refugee arrivals are being received and slowly registered, though needs have overstretched capacities. The majority are women and children, who urgently need aid for life’s necessities. One widow told me, “We need shelter, food, hospitals and schools.”
The greatest need is for shelter. While those who arrived here in December are in some kind of shelter, new arrivals have no choice but to sleep under the stars. Camps are receiving clean water from some agencies such as Oxfam, but there is not enough, and most conflicts in the refugee camps take place at overcrowded water points. The need for latrines and sanitation is even greater. Education for most children is unavailable. Alarmingly, mosquito nets are non-existent, I didn’t see a single one, and there is malaria here.
Rains bring disease
With the rainy season coming next month, poor sanitation, a measles outbreak, and with recent confirmation by the Ugandan Ministry of Health of a new meningitis outbreak in the region, there are concerns that the health situation will deteriorate, with more outbreaks of disease. “When rain comes there will be breeding grounds for mosquitoes. We have to take malaria seriously,” said George Okumu, of Oxfam partner ACORD in the town of Adjumani.
Some vaccinations are ongoing. The Uganda government, UN agencies and NGOs are all responding, but as often happens in these situations, needs are greater than available resources. Most international aid donated for this crisis is being sent into South Sudan, and of course that aid is needed. But there are also these refugees who have fled the country, and the international community has hardly taken note of them.
I saw a bulldozer plowing up brush outside Adjumani to make room for more arrivals, so these refugee camps will continue to grow. The world’s major donors must know that the urgent needs of these refugees are not being met. The Ugandan government and host communities have provided refugee families with plots of land, but if there is not enough long term support for these families, potential opportunities for the refugees to help themselves will be lost.
Oxfam is there
Oxfam has been responding with a large clean water program, and is currently distributing camp stoves to the most vulnerable families. Soon, a cash for work road building program will begin, to give much needed income to many families. Seeds and agricultural kits are also being planned. We also have a small computer lab in one camp, teaching basic computer and internet skills.
Oxfam and partner organizations would like to do more to help these refugees in northern Uganda, but unfortunately this refugee crisis remains seriously underfunded. We aim to scale up our programs, but this can only come about if we receive more support.
They are survivors
These families who have fled from South Sudan are not just helpless refugees. They are capable and resilient people. They are survivors of not just the present conflict, but they also survived the decades long war in Sudan that preceded it. Their hopes for their new country are being denied by circumstances beyond their control, and by an uncaring international community.
With other conflicts and disasters elsewhere in the world, there may be a feeling of ‘donor fatigue’ among more affluent nations. But these South Sudanese refugees in Uganda are equally deserving of aid. They deserve adequate support, so that they can live healthy lives, with dignity.
Uganda: Uganda: Population Movement Emergency appeal n° MDRUG037 Operations update n° 1
Summary: CHF 170,000 was allocated from the IFRC’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) on 11 February, 2014 to South Sudan in refugee camps in Arua and Adjumani districts in Northern Uganda. The background for the emergency is rooted in the eruption of a conflict in the Republic of South Sudan from mid-December 2013.
The insecurity and violence has provoked a mass population displacement within South Sudan and into neighbouring countries and Uganda has received the main bulk of the refugees. The number of refugees in the operational area are still expected to increase as the insecurity continues despite the signing a Peace Agreement. Based on an inter-agency assessment and discussions with involved agencies,
URCS and the IFRC prepared this emergency appeal to support tens of thousands of people in dire need of emergency medical care, shelter, food, water and adequate sanitation facilities.
URCS, through its branches in Arua and Adjumani and supported by International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), has been supporting the displaced populations with Restoring Family Links (RFL) activities. Furthermore, with support of the appeal URCS has initiated hygiene promotion activities in the camp, and is in the final stage of rolling out programme activities, including the deployment of two WatSan kit 5, emergency shelter provision, communicable disease prevention and an ambulance for referrals.
The IFRC has deployed almost all delegates in the Operations Support Unit composed of an Operations Support Delegate, a Logistics Delegate and a Project Accountant for operational support and management of the operation. The role of the unit is to provide technical support to Uganda RCS in relation to current and potentially upcoming emergency operations, especially in the areas of finance and procurement.
Norwegian Red Cross has pledged a WatSan delegate with the deployment of a WatSan Kit 5 which is expected to arrive in Uganda end of February 2014. Swedish Red Cross has committed to deploy a delegate for one month to function as the Operations Support Coordinator during recruitment, whereas British Red Cross support with a Logistics Delegate. Discussions are on-going with several movement partners for support towards the emergency appeal.
Ethiopia: Ethiopia Complex Emergency Fact Sheet #1, Fiscal Year (FY) 2014
HIGHLIGHTS
Above-average meher harvests benefit chronically food-insecure areas of Ethiopia, but localized food insecurity persists in areas affected by below-average rainfall.
GoE and humanitarian partners release the Ethiopia Humanitarian Requirements Document (HRD) for 2014.
Conflict in South Sudan forces more than 42,000 South Sudanese refugees to seek shelter in Ethiopia.
South Sudan: UNMISS holds workshop on women and conflict in Maridi
24 February 2014 - To promote women’s role in upholding peace in Western Equatoria State, the UNMISS Gender Unit recently held a one-day workshop in Maridi County.
Focusing on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on the vital role women play in preventing and resolving conflicts, the workshop targeted women, community leaders, civil society organizations and students.
The resolution also stresses the need to involve women in peace-building and calls on all parties in conflicts to take special measures to protect women and girls from gender-based violence in violent situations.
“While talking about UN Security Council resolutions on women, peace and security, we need to … (raise awareness of) both men and women,” said UNMISS Gender Affairs Officer Margaret Joshua.
Opening the workshop, Maridi County Commissioner Wilson Thomas urged participants to uphold resolutions they had learned about and directed local authorities to mobilize the community and advocate for women.
He also appealed to UNMISS to translate its mandate into local languages so that local communities could understand it better.
“I am so happy today to learn something new from UNMISS and about our rights as women who have been left behind,” said Mary Charles, a women participant.
South Sudan: Inmates in Yambio get new school
24 February 2014 - Young inmates in Yambio Central Prison, Western Equatoria State, hailed UNMISS Corrections Advisors today for establishing a school so they can continue their education in jail.
“Young juveniles can’t just be locked up in prison,” said UNMISS Corrections Advisor Mouli Adedevo. “South Sudan needs educated people.”
Mr. Adedevo said the idea to set up the school six months ago came up after the Corrections Advisory Service in the state and their local partners realized that most of the inmates were young people.
After a decision was taken to ensure that part of their rehabilitation would be through education, he said the prison’s administration approved the initiative to set up seven classrooms.
Non-governmental organizations in the state supported the partners by providing chalk and exercise books, Mr. Adedevo added.
One inmate, David Akol, was grateful the school had allowed him to sit for the just concluded Primary Leaving Examinations.
“I managed to sit for PLE through the help of the prison authorities and UNMISS and I passed well,” he said.
Mr. Akol said education was vital, even for those serving their sentences. He quoted State Governor Colonel Bangasi Joseph Bakosoro, who continually emphasizes the importance of education to communities in his state.
The school head teacher, Liberian national Michael Johnson, is also an inmate. Mr. Johnson said his status as a foreign prisoner had not stopped him from teaching more than 40 fellow prisoners, and he had enjoyed contributing.
Yambio Central Prison Director Zacharia Yak said inmates would also take up vocational projects in carpentry, farming and masonry as part of efforts to transform them into good citizens.
South Sudan: Medical care under fire in South Sudan
Juba / Amsterdam / Barcelona / New York, 26 February 2014 — As entire towns in South Sudan suffer devastating attacks, medical care has also come under fire, with patients shot in their beds, wards burned to the ground, medical equipment looted, and, in one case, an entire hospital destroyed, the international medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) announced today. Hundreds of thousands of people have been effectively denied lifesaving assistance.
MSF staff witnessed the gruesome aftermath of recent armed attacks and clashes in Malakal in Upper Nile State, discovering patients murdered inside the town’s Teaching Hospital. In another disturbing violation of medical structures since conflict erupted in mid-December 2013, an MSF team returned to Leer, in Unity State, and discovered the hospital thoroughly looted, burned and vandalised. Vast parts of the town appear to have been razed to the ground.
“Assaults on medical facilities and patients are part of a broader backdrop of brutal attacks on towns, markets and public facilities,” said Raphael Gorgeu, MSF head of mission. “These attacks show a complete lack of respect for medical care and deprive the most vulnerable of lifesaving assistance just when they need it most.”
Scenes of horror in Malakal
On February 22, MSF teams discovered at least 14 dead bodies throughout the Malakal Teaching Hospital compound, scattered among 50 to 75 patients who remained in the facility, too weak or elderly to flee for safety. Several patients showed signs they had been shot dead while lying in their beds. Many of the hospital wards, including the therapeutic feeding center for malnourished children, had been burned, and general looting had clearly taken place throughout the hospital. MSF has evacuated several of the most severely ill patients to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) base in Malakal for treat-ment, 13 of whom were gunshot victims.
“Malakal is deserted, with houses burned throughout and countless dead bodies strewn in the streets,” said Carlos Francisco, MSF’s emergency coordinator in Malakal. “I can find no words to describe the brutality in Malakal, which has left in its wake a ransacked city and a thoroughly traumatised people.”
Some of the patients MSF evacuated to the UNMISS base recounted that armed groups entered the hospital on February 19 and shot dead people who had no money or mobile phones to hand over. Later that afternoon, armed men returned and killed patients in their beds and others who had fled to the operating theatre for safety, according to survivor testimonies. They also reportedly raped women and young girls.
Hundreds of thousands deprived of care in Leer
Hundreds of thousands of people have been cut off from critical, lifesaving medical care after Leer Hospital was ransacked and destroyed between the final days of January and early February.
When MSF staff were able to assess Leer Hospital following weeks of insecurity in the area, they discovered a horrific scene of equipment and buildings reduced to ash, drug vials smashed and strewn through-out the grounds, and sterilised surgical equipment broken and discarded everywhere. Drugs, patient beds, and other supplies were thoroughly looted. Not a single hospital bed remains in the facility compound (see interactive guide displaying hospital destruction).
“The people of Leer and throughout southern Unity State knew they could count upon MSF for critical medical care, and now that assurance is simply gone,” said Gorgeu. “The trust that is essential for us to carry out our work has been shattered, and the ultimate victims are the countless people who will suffer—and likely die—for want of medical care.”
The hospital in Leer, opened 25 years ago, was the only secondary healthcare facility in the region, constituting a critical lifeline for nearly 300,000 people in the surrounding area. In 2013 alone, more than 68,000 medical consultations were carried out, nearly 400 people underwent surgical care and 2,100 children were treated for malnutrition. Since December 15, when fighting erupted in South Sudan, and up to January 15, 2014, more than 4,000 consultations were carried out and nearly 170 surgeries were performed until the forced closure in late January.
“Leer is now empty of civilians who have fled continued insecurity and are living in terrible conditions in the bush, too terrified to return home,” said Sarah Maynard, MSF project coordinator for Leer. “But even if they were to come back tomorrow, or a month from now, they would return to ruins of their former home and no healthcare. This is catastrophic for the population.”
MSF’s 240 locally-hired staff remain hidden in the bush, struggling to treat patients with rapidly dwindling supplies. The staff report they are reusing wound dressings and trying desperately to assist the displaced who have grown more ill from drinking dirty river water and from eating water lilies for lack of food. MSF is exploring every avenue to provide healthcare to the displaced and resupply its staff.
“We must seriously consider if we can return to work in Leer Hospital,” said Gorgeu. “That will not only require significant investment of resources, but it will depend upon on unconditional respect from all par-ties for our medical facilities, staff, and patients, not only in southern Unity State but everywhere in the country.”
Disturbing pattern of medical care under fire in South Sudan
The atrocities in the hospital in Malakal and the destruction of Leer Hospital take place amidst a disturbing pattern of incidents affecting medical staff, patients, and MSF-supported facilities in South Sudan:
- In mid-January, armed men robbed and threatened staff at the MSF compound in Malakal, leading to a temporary suspension of MSF’s medical activities in the town.
- In mid-January, the MSF compound in Bentiu, capital of Unity State, was looted amidst chaotic fighting in the town, which forced MSF staff to vacate Bentiu State Hospital and leave drugs and supplies with patients and their caretakers. Thousands of people had no access to healthcare for weeks in Bentiu town.
- Patients were reportedly killed in their beds in the hospital in Bor, capital of Jonglei State, during fighting in December 2013. In early February, MSF staff visited the hospital and discovered the decomposed corpses of a mother and child dumped in the facility’s water tank. While the hospi-tal is today functional and well supplied, there are few patients in the wards since most of the town is empty.
“Medical care has come under fire in South Sudan,” said Gorgeu. “Rather than safe havens for treatment, hospitals are now targets of attack and brutality. They are places to fear rather than trust, a complete inversion of their purpose and role. Hundreds of thousands of people are in desperate need of shelter, food, water, and healthcare in South Sudan. The question is, how can effective, neutral aid be provided in a climate of utter disrespect and fear?”
MSF has been working in the region that today constitutes the Republic of South Sudan since 1983, and currently runs 17 projects in nine of the country’s ten states, with regular projects in Agok, Aweil, Bentiu, Gogrial, Maban, Malakal, Nasir, Yambio, Lankien, Yuai, Pamat, and Yida and four additional emergency operations in Juba, Awerial, Malakal, Melut, and Nimule. MSF responds to emergencies, including large-scale displacement, refugee influxes, alarming nutrition situations and peaks of disease such as measles , malaria, acute watery diarrhea and kala azar, in addition to providing basic and specialist healthcare services. MSF is also providing medical and humanitarian to refugees from South Sudan in Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia.
In the first ten weeks of the current crisis, MSF carried out 103,614 consultations (including 40,925 of children under five), 3,767 hospitalizations (including 2,282 of children under five), treated 1,393 war wounded, performed 755 major surgeries, and 2,157 deliveries. MSF currently has 333 international staff working in its projects alongside 3,330 South Sudanese staff.
South Sudan: Over 68,000 people displaced by rebel attack in Jonglei’s Duk county
February 25, 14 (BOR) - Over 68,000 displaced civilians from Duk county in South Sudan’s Jonglei state are now on move to Twic East county on foot after an attack on their villages on Monday 24 February by rebel fighters, local officials say.
A large force, reported to be allied to South Sudan’s former Vice President Riek Machar, attacked Duk Padiet, Dongcak and Mareng in Duk county, killing three civilians in the attack.
Elijah Mochnoom Wuor, who narrowly escaped from the attack told Sudan Tribune in Bor that a "large population is now on move to Twic East", expressing his fears of losing children due to hunger.
"The attack happened on Monday in many parts of Duk county, killing three people. They looted and burned some houses. Their aim was to loot, even the Lost Boys’ hospital in Duk Payuel, the main Hospital for eye surgery for all the people in the state was destroyed", Mocnoom explained.
In the same attack, the rebels injured two people, according to the commissioner of Duk County, Elijah Mocnoom Wuor.
"Their aim was to loot. The schools, health facilities and government buildings in the County headquarters of Mareng were all looted or destroyed”, he added.
Over the weekend fighting took place between the South Sudanese army (SPLA) and the rebels - the SPLM/A-in-Opposition - in Gadiang. Military sources say that over 170 rebels were killed in three rounds of heavy attacks before the rebels were repelled. Nineteen SPLA soldiers were killed in the same attack.
According to the commissioner, the rebels left most places in Duk and "are now regrouping themselves" possibly for second attack, adding that the SPLA have occupied strategic areas for maximum protection.
Of the 710,600 people who have been displaced within South Sudan since the crisis begun in December almost 130,000 are in Jonglei. A further 171,000 have fled to neighbouring countries according to the United Nations.
Jonglei has seen some of the worst fighting after a large part of the army defected in the days after the conflict began in Juba.
(ST)
South Sudan: United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) Update February 26, 2014
UNMISS “Protection of Civilians” (PoC) Sites
- As of 26 February, a total of estimated 75,643 civilians are seeking protection in 8 bases.
Approximate figures of IDPs as of 26 February in PoC areas are as follows; 43,324 in Juba, 21,568 in Malakal, 4,891 in Bor and 4,523 in Bentiu.