31 October 2014 - UNMISS today extracted 30 civilians from the Rubkona airstrip in Unity State and brought them to the Protection of Civilians site at the mission’s base in the state capital Bentiu.

The move followed a renewed outbreak of violence in Bentiu and Rubkona, another town in the state.

In a statement issued yesterday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon strongly condemned the resumption of hostilities between the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and opposition forces.

“This resumption of hostilities is yet again a serious violation of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement and undermines the ongoing IGAD efforts to find a political solution to the conflict in South Sudan,” said a spokesperson for Mr. Ban in New York.

“The Secretary-General calls upon President Salva Kiir and Dr. Riek Machar to cease immediately all military operations and reminds them of their obligation to protect civilians and respect international humanitarian law,” the statement added.

The UN Chief reminded all parties of the inviolability of all UN premises, including UNMISS Protection of Civilians sites.

The mission is currently protecting some 100,000 displaced civilians at its bases country-wide, including almost 49,000 of them in Bentiu.

“The Secretary-General also urges both parties to participate constructively in the on-going political negotiations in Addis Ababa and reach urgently an agreement on inclusive and comprehensive transitional arrangements,” said the statement.

31 October 2014 - Building confidence in the South Sudan National Police Service (SSNPS) would help create an environment that would allow internally displaced people (IDPs) to return to their homes, a senior UNMISS official said in Juba today.

“To succeed in protecting civilians you must uphold the rule of law,” said the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General (DSRSG) Raisedon Zenenga. “You must rise above ethnic divisions.”

Mr. Zenenga was speaking the closing of a six-week pilot training for SSNPS officers which aimed to equip them with skills and knowledge that would boost the public’s confidence and trust in their policing role.

Some 38 officers made up the first group that participated in the training, which focused on topics like protection of civilians, human rights, international humanitarian law, gender conventions and community policing.

“Investigations carried out by various human right bodies have revealed that some individual SSNPS officers and units were involved in serious human rights violations during the crisis,” he said.

The DSRSG called on the trainees to be prepared to repair the destroyed reputation of the police service. SSNPS Inspector General Pieng Deng Kuol noted that the crisis was an opportunity for the country’s police force to develop and reform itself to the expectation of the people.

“Some of our population lost trust in the government and decided to seek refuge in protection of civilians in UN compounds,” said. “They went there because they lost confidence and trust from the protector, which is the police.”

Gen. Kuol added that the IDPs’ prolonged stay in the protection sites was widening the gap for reconciliation.

“The trust of IDPs is vital for reconciliation with the government, with their neighbors and with some ethnic members,” he said.

Humanitarian support was another necessary condition for IDPs to rebuild their lives upon return to their neighborhoods, the SSNPS Chief added.

November 3, 2014 (JUBA) - South Sudan claimed 35 of its civilian were killed and 17 others injured in an aerial bombing allegedly carried out by the Sudanese army in Western Bahr el-Ghazal state.

The incident reportedly occurred on Sunday morning in a densely populated area of Raja county damaging several properties and causing panic among citizens.

“The Sudanese jet fighters came yesterday [Sunday] morning and bombed the area. People are now terrified especially that it caused death,” Raja county commissioner, Hassan Jallab said on Monday.

“35 people have been killed and 17 others also wounded when an Antonov bomb landed in the heavily populated area,” he added.

The commissioner described the attack, which he largely blamed on the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), as “barbaric and unprovoked.”

He said several civilians have since fled Raja in fear of more bombings, and many reportedly took refuge in to nearby bushes.

Jallab called upon the government in Juba to intervene and assist the displaced people in Western Bahr el Ghazal state.

Phillip Aguer, the spokesperson of the South Sudanese army (SPLA) confirmed the incident in a separate interview with Sudan Tribune on Monday.

"What we have now is that an Antonov bombed the area today morning," Aguer said.

"We are still establishing the make of the plane but what we know is that the plane came from the direction of Sudan," he added.

The zonal commander reportedly said 17 people were wounded during the attack.

"We are yet waiting for more reports on this," said Aguer, adding that the SPLA would send an investigation team to Raja on Tuesday.

The alleged attack comes as president Salva Kiir prepares for a trip to Khartoum for talks with his Sudanese counterpart, Omer Al-Bashir on Tuesday this week.

(ST)

ADJUMANI DISTRICT, Uganda, November 3 (UNHCR)– Peter sat in the shade of a large tree in northern Uganda's Adjumani district, still terrified that the violence he and his family left behind will catch up with them once again. "Sometimes my mind thinks maybe someone will come and kill me at night and I wake up and want to run," the 26-year-old South Sudan refugee said. "I calm myself down but sometimes it comes back."

He still had flashbacks to the quiet day in late April 2013, when clashes between the Murle and Nuer ethnic groups flared in Peter's hometown of Gogolthin, South Sudan. Afraid for their lives, Peter, his wife Mariam and their two young children fled, barefoot, amid the cries and screams of their neighbours. His brothers and sisters were among the dead.

For 30 days, Peter and Mariam walked towards the South Sudan capital of Juba, carrying their children and sleeping with only the clothes on their backs. Peter had no idea if his parents, Mary and Allen, had made it out of Gogolthin alive. "We avoided the main roads as we were too afraid," he recalled. "We ate roots, grass, and wild fruit ¬- it was the rainy season."

In Juba, the family found a Presbyterian church, where the pastor gave them food for two days and a sheet to sleep on. He suggested that UNHCR might be able to help them in northern Uganda, but although the pastor's friend drove the family as far as the South Sudanese border town of Nimule, from there they were on their own.

It was mid-June by the time Peter and his family finally registered in Adjumani district at a centre that has since been closed. Today, although they have found safety, life is still a struggle. "People are sleeping outside and there is not enough space and nowhere to hang mosquito nets," Peter said, comforting his young son who has been sick for days. "The health centre is good and nearby, but malaria drugs are insufficient."

UNHCR's refugee operation in northern Uganda was winding down following large-scale return after independence from Sudan in 2011. However, from March 2012, South Sudanese like Peter started to arrive following ethnic clashes in Jonglei state. The conflict escalated in December 2013 and people started to arrive in Uganda in larger and larger numbers.

The 2014 funding requirement for the South Sudanese emergency is US$224.3 million, but only 43 per cent has been funded. Uganda hosts some 405,000 asylum-seekers and refugees, mostly from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan.

Out of the more than 150,000 South Sudanese refugees, the majority are Dinkas and Nuers from Jonglei, Upper Nile and Unity states as well as the capital, Juba. The conflict, however, is touching many ethnic groups in South Sudan and new arrivals include people of the Murle, Bari and even Anuak ethnic groups, who have not traditionally been refugees in Uganda.

The country has a generous policy of allowing refuges to live in settlements and not camps where refugees are allocated land to encourage them to produce their own food. Peter and Mariam have recently been granted refugee status – but still they must wait to restart their lives, while the government struggles to acquire land to accommodate and provide agricultural opportunities to the rising number of refugees in the area.

"I do not want to go back," Peter says. "My people are already killed and clashes are still going on." For now, all he and his family want to do is live.

By Karen Ringuette in Adjumani District, Uganda

This month’s update highlights children and armed conflict concerns and provides recommendations for the protection of children in the situations of Central African Republic, Sudan (Darfur), South Sudan, and Iraq. In particular, the update provides recommendations ahead of the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan’s (UNMISS) expected mandate renewal.

Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict is a network of local, national and international non-governmental organizations striving to end violations against children in armed conflicts and to guarantee their rights. Monthly updates are based on the experience of Watchlist and its member organizations in specific country situations and Watchlist’s expertise in over a decade of engagement with the Security Council’s children and armed conflict agenda.

This is a summary of what was said by the UNHCR spokesperson at today’s Palais des Nations press briefing in Geneva.

UNHCR is concerned about the security situation at the refugee camps at Kakuma in northwest Kenya. Sporadic disturbances that began a week ago have claimed the lives of eight refugees from Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and South Sudan.

Our Kenya representative, Raouf Mazou, visited Kakuma yesterday to assess the situation. Kenyan law enforcement agencies have beefed up security, particularly at Kakuma 4 where most of the trouble has occurred. The Department of Refugee Affairs and UNHCR are together engaging refugee leaders and conflict resolution measures have also been instituted.

The violence started last Tuesday, when reports of the attempted rape of a refugee girl child sparked fighting among rival groups of South Sudanese youths, in which one person was killed. Kenyan security personnel intervened to bring the situation under control.

There was further trouble at the weekend when youths went on a rampage after a child was hit by a boda boda (motor cycle taxi). The rider, a Burundian male refugee, was set upon and sustained machete wounds to the head and arms. Several refugees received injuries and were treated at a local clinic, and three motor cycles were burned.

Fear of the violence prompted refugees in the affected areas (Kakuma 4) to move their families to nearby police posts. Security personnel responded and managed to calm the situation. Several arrests were made. Police also organized a weapons search and confiscated machetes and other crude arms.

Notwithstanding police reinforcements, the situation deteriorated again yesterday morning, when four more refugees were killed (bringing the total deaths over the past week to 8). Together with the Kenyan authorities, we are continuing to work with the refugees to restore calm, and appealing for calm and peaceful coexistence among all communities in the camp.

Kakuma camp is a melting pot with close to 180,000 refugees from more than 20 countries who live in four sectors. The majority are from South Sudan (86,800), Somalia (55,825), Sudan (9,150) and DRC (8,800). Situated in Kenya’s Turkana County, Kakuma is overcrowded and additional land is urgently needed.

For more information on this topic, please contact:

In Nairobi, Teresa Ongaro on mobile +254 735 337 608
In Nairobi, Emmanuel Nyabera, on mobile +254 733 995 975
In Geneva, Adrian Edwards on mobile +41 79 557 9120
In Geneva, Karin de Gruijl on mobile +41 79 255 92 13

November 3, 2014 (KAMPALA) – One child is dead and at least eight other people seriously wounded following last week’s clashes between rival South Sudanese forces in the twin towns of Bentiu and Rubkotna in Unity state.

Multiple sources told Sudan Tribune on Monday that a child was confirmed dead after being shot in the head, while a six months pregnant woman was in a serious codition after being shot in the chest.

Medical charity has operated on a number of people at a UN protection site who were wounded during the violence.

An aid worker who spoke with Sudan Tribune on condition of anonymity says the injured people were shot when clashes erupted over control of the strategic, oil-producing region.

“These people were shot as a result of stray bullets when the two groups fight around Rubkotna. When they fire [at] each other most of the bullets landed inside the UN camps,” said the source.

The aid worker that that although calm had now been restored, tensions remained among the rival groups in the area.

Internally displaced people sheltering at the UN base said that the recent resumption of hostilities between pro-government and opposition forces had sparked panic among the nearly 50,000 residents.

The UN special representative on sexual violence in conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura, visited Bentiu last month where she conducted a series of interviews with rape victims sheltering at the UN compound.

The UN official, who hails from Sierra Leone, accused rival groups of putting women and girls on the battle frontlines, saying both sides were responsible for fuelling ethnic-related violence.

She says the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has also documented crimes committed by both conflicting sides.

Around 100,000 South Sudanese people were forced to seek protection at UN camps around the country after violence erupted in mid-December last year, with almost half of those sheltering in the oil hub town of Bentiu.

Bentiu has been the scene of tense exchanges between government and opposition forces, changing hands several times throughout the more than 10-month-long conflict.

Senior UN officials have warned the warring parties against using sexual violence as method of warfare, saying such actions constitute a war crime or crime against humanity.

The world body has stressed that both sides will be held accountable for any atrocities committed during the crisis, warning those responsible could face persecution in both national and international courts.

Government and rebel forces have been engaged in an armed struggle since a power struggle within the country’s ruling party (SPLM) erupted in violence, triggering tribal tensions across the young nation.

The violence initially flared in the capital, Juba, before spreading to other parts of the country.

Thousands have been killed and more than 1.5 million displaced, with hundreds of thousands of people fleeing to neighbouring countries.

Ongoing peace talks between the warring parties in Ethiopia have so far failed to achieve a lasting political settlement to the crisis, with both sides accusing each other of violating a ceasefire deal signed in January.

(ST)

FOOD SECURITY SNAPSHOT

• Favourable prospects for 2014 crop production in most southern bi-modal rainfall areas
• Good yields expected in northern uni-modal rainfall areas, but reduced plantings in conflict-affected areas will lower cereal production
• Good pasture conditions across country
• High cereal prices in conflict-affected areas exacerbating precarious food security situation
• Significant improvements in food security outlook since August following harvests and humanitarian aid, but serious concerns remain for food security conditions in early 2015
• About 2.2 million people are currently considered as severely food insecure and in need of humanitarian assistance

[ACTED News] - Kitchen gardening has been boosted by ACTED in the refugee camps and host communities in Maban county, Upper Nile state, with support from United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and Common Humanitarian Fund.

In July, assorted vegetable seeds and agricultural tools were provided to almost 11,000 households. ACTED has also been providing training on improved agricultural techniques and established demonstration plots where farmers can converge to learn and share experiences and best practices. It is now harvest season, and as well as improving the diets of their families, some households are also producing excess vegetables which they can sell at the local market.

Mr. Rajab, a refugee in Gendrassa camp said: “I have made 1,500 South Sudanese pounds (US$ 250) from the sale of my extra vegetables. I will definitely plant more vegetables next season so that I can make even more money to support my family”.

[ACTED News] - Tree nurseries were established by ACTED in two refugee camps in Maban county, Upper Nile State, where it is growing 4,000 seedlings with support from United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). These seedlings will help to improve the environmental degradation situation around the camps caused by the influx of refugees who cut down the surrounding trees to use for shelter construction and firewood.

In September, the seedlings were ready for distribution. The refugee community has been given Moringa seedlings, which are highly nutritious, as well as Eucalyptus and Teak - specific species that significantly reduce the amount of surface water, which is vital in an area prone to seasonal flooding. As well as distributing seedlings to refugees, ACTED is also organizing plantings at schools, health centres, water points and community centres.

Mr. Sebit, a teacher in Mama primary school in Gendrassa refugee camp said that “the trees we have received will provide shade for the pupils and reduce flooding in our compound. I have instructed the school guard to take good care of these trees”.

The campaign running from today (Tuesday) to Friday targets more than 300,000 children under the age of five.

The vaccine being administered is a trivalent, against three strains of the polio virus.

Launching the campaign, Central Equatoria State Health Minister, Emmanuel Ijja Baya said the vaccinators will move from house to house, and centres will also be set up in schools, primary health care centers and protection of civilian sites.

Emmanuel Ijja Baya: “In the town, especially like Juba, we can include them by visiting the kindergarten schools so that they can all be vaccinated. It is better to include those under five who are in the kindergarten and then you can really see whether he is that age or not so that there is no child actually left out. Even all those who are born the same night also they have to be vaccinated.”

The campaign is being spearheaded by the Central Equatoria State Ministry of Health with support from UN children’s organization (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization.

A similar polio eradication campaign has been launched in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State.

The campaign targets up to 400,000 children and will last four days.

The Director General in the Northern Bahr el Ghazal State Ministry of Health, Dominic Athian Dut, says the country has been free from polio since 2009.

Dut is calling on all parents and guardians to ensure all children under the age of five years get vaccinated.

Dominic Athian Dut: “In line with our government’s commitment and efforts from the polio eradication initiative, the volunteer vaccinators and social mobilizers have been the back bone of the program and the government and the people of Northern Bahr el Ghazal are grateful for their hard work. Therefore, I am calling upon all mothers, fathers and caretakers to make sure that all the under five children are vaccinated in this polio campaign. Every eligible child should get two drops of oral polio vaccine.”

The next round of vaccination will be conducted from 2 December to 5 December.

Maize, sorghum, wheat, and groundnuts are the most important food commodities in South Sudan.
Sorghum, maize, and groundnuts are the staple foods for the poor in most rural areas. Maize flour and wheat (as bread) are more important for middle - income and rich households in urban areas. Sorghum and maize are generally substitutable for one another but preferences are shifting towards maize over time, especially in the southern half of Southern Sudan. Groundnuts are important for the rural poor in Northern Bahr El Ghazal, Warrap, and Lakes states. Short-term sorghum is harvested in July–August in Greater Equatoria states and in September–October in Greater Bahr el Ghazal, Greater Upper Nile states and Jonglei states, and long - term sorghum in December–January particularly in Lakes, Western Bahr El Ghazal, Warrap, and Upper Nile states. Maize grain and flour from Uganda are available throughout the year because of the bi-modal rainfall pattern and carryover stocks. The main retail markets are in the state capitals, namely, Juba, Aweil, Malakal, Wau, Torit, Kuajok, Bentiu, Bor, Rumbek, and Yambio, but historical price data sets ( 2006 - 2010 ) are only available for Juba, Aweil, Malakal, and Wau only. The most important local wholesale market is in Renk, a mechanized cereal producing area in Upper Nile state. Aweil, Wau, Kuajok, and Bentiu are mostly supplied in cereals from Khartoum and El Obeid, while Malakal is also supplied by Renk through Kosti. In Juba, Torit, Bor, and Rumbek, cereal supplies mostly come from Uganda

11/5/2014 - 01:21 GMT

After months of threatening to impose sanctions on South Sudan leaders, the UN Security Council is ready to take action to punish those responsible for violence in the country, the council president said Tuesday.

The 15-member council had until now held off on sanctions to allow peace efforts by African regional leaders to yield results.

But with a flare-up of fighting, the council agreed to seriously consider sanctions that would target President Salva Kiir and his rival and former vice president Riek Machar.

"There is considerable interest among many council members to look very closely at applying targeted sanctions and also, for many, an arms embargo," said Australian Ambassador Gary Quinlan, whose country chairs the council this month.

"That will be the subject of great interest in the coming weeks," he said.

The council in August threatened to slap sanctions on warring factions for failing to live up to a peace deal signed in May.

Under that deal, Kiir and Machar were to establish a unity government that never materialized.

"The actions of President Salva Kiir and former vice president Riek Machar in continuing to pursue a military solution to this conflict are unacceptable," the council said in a statement issued in August.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon last week called on the warring leaders to immediately stop fighting following the latest upsurge of violence in the oil-rich north.

The fresh fighting in the key northern oil town of Bentiu marked an end to a brief lull in hostilities in the country's 10-month war and coincides with the end of the rainy season, which made many roads impassable.

South Sudan descended into chaos and violence in December when a political dispute broke out between Kiir and Machar, but the turmoil has since broadened into an ethnic conflict.

The humanitarian situation in the country remains dire, with 1.8 million people displaced including 450,000 to neighboring countries.

Around four million people -- close to a third of the population -- are facing a food crisis.

cml/wat

© 1994-2014 Agence France-Presse

The Government is to provide €2 million to aid agencies responding to the deepening crisis in South Sudan, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charlie Flanagan, TD, and Minister of State for Development, Trade Promotion and North South Co-operation, Seán Sherlock, TD, have announced.

Widespread violence against civilians in South Sudan has forced almost two million people to flee their homes. Almost half a million of these have taken refuge in neighbouring countries, including Ethiopia, where President Michael D. Higgins, accompanied by Minister Sherlock, will visit refugee camps in Gambella today. Gambella provides shelter to many of the 180,000 South Sudanese who have fled to Ethiopia as a result of the conflict.

The funding, which will provide food, clean water, healthcare, shelter, education programmes for children and protection to vulnerable people, is being distributed as follows:

• €1 million to Médecins sans Frontières, GOAL, Plan Ireland and Concern to provide health care, clean water and sanitation and education for South Sudanee refugees in Gambella, Ethiopia.
  
• €1 million to Concern, Christian Aid and Trócaire for programmes in South Sudan to provide emergency nutrition, improve food security and assist people to develop livelihoods.
  
• This brings to over €8.5 million the funding provided by Ireland to the South Sudanese crisis in 2014.

Minister Charlie Flanagan said:

“With an estimated 3.8 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in South Sudan, I am gravely concerned at the impact that the violence is having on the civilian population. I am particularly alarmed by the high levels of sexual and gender based violence being perpetrated against women and girls and at the plight of refugees who have fled the country.

“Given the seriousness of the crisis and the urgent needs of innocent civilians, Ireland will provide a further €2 million to our NGO partners in South Sudan and Gambella, Ethiopia.”

Minister Sherlock, who is accompanying President Michael D. Higgins on his visit to refugee camps in Gambella today, said:

“The vast majority of South Sudanese refugees arriving in Ethiopia are women and children. Many are in very poor health having walked for weeks from a number of areas of South Sudan to reach shelter. This additional funding of €2million will ensure that effective aid is delivered in a concentrated manner to where it is most needed here.

This funding will assist Irish Aid’s key partners in their efforts to meet the urgent needs of extremely vulnerable refugees in Gambella, Ethiopia through the provision of food, clean water, healthcare, shelter, sanitation, hygiene and protection’.

ENDS

Press Office
4 November 2014

Notes to the editor:

• The humanitarian situation in South Sudan has been critical since armed violence broke out in the capital Juba on 15th December 2013 and subsequently spread to several states in South Sudan.
  
• There are 1.4 million people internally displaced with almost 470,000 refugees in neighbouring countries. The dead and the wounded are estimated to be in the tens of thousands. Almost 4 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance.
  
• The total Irish Aid commitment to the South Sudan crisis (including to South Sudanese refugees in bordering countries) amounts to over €8.5 million to date in 2014.
  
• In response to the current outbreak of conflict and resulting displacement, two airlifts totalling 45 tonnes of emergency supplies, valued at approximately €400,000, were dispatched to South Sudan from our pre-positioned stocks in Accra, Ghana, in early 2014. A further airlift of 36 tonnes of emergency supplies, valued at approximately €370,000, was dispatched to Uganda in March to assist the South Sudanese refugees in the country.
  
• €3 million in funding has been disbursed to the UN’s Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF) for 2014 to ensure that UN agencies and NGOs on the ground can respond to urgent humanitarian needs.
  
• The Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF) for South Sudan is a UN-administered fund which provides funding to NGOs and UN agencies for their responses to critical humanitarian needs.
  
• In addition to the provision of funding, there have been seven deployments from Ireland’s Rapid Response Corps to South Sudan since December last year. The Irish Aid Rapid Response Corps is a register of highly-skilled individuals who are willing to be deployed at short notice to assist in an emergency relief effort.

11/5/2014 - 01:39 GMT

by Jacey FORTIN

With war raging in South Sudan and severe flooding in Ethiopia's western state of Gambela, 10-year old refugee Nyanhial Gatkuoth is caught in the middle.

For four months the little South Sudanese refugee has been living at Pagak, an Ethiopian town on the border with her war-torn home country.

"I miss going to school," she told AFP. "In South Sudan, I was learning English."

Now she spends her free time playing with other children, using an inflated rubber glove as a football.

She and her mother are waiting to be relocated to a refugee camp, where they hope to find a school. Pagak is only a way-station, and refugees there are unhappy with their small rations and the large tents they must all cram into to sleep.

For now, there is no camp available for Nyanhial -- or for the 13,000 other refugees the UN estimates are waiting. Surrounding camps are filled to capacity, or are swamped in fetid, mosquito-infested water.

The war in the world's newest nation erupted in December, when President Salva Kiir accused his sacked deputy Riek Machar of trying to stage a coup.

Thousands of people have been killed and almost two million have been forced from their homes, including almost 100,000 who are sheltering in squalid UN peacekeeping bases fearing they will be killed if they leave.

The violence has since broadened into an ethnic conflict, and now includes more than 20 different armed groups.

Long-running peace talks in Ethiopia are stalled, and hundreds more refugees cross each week into Ethiopia, which is now hosting almost 200,000 South Sudanese who have fled the war.

'Planning for war'

With fighting apparently escalating once again now the rainy season that made roads impassable has ended, fears are growing that the numbers fleeing will increase further.

Local UN refugee agency chief Angel Djohossou says all efforts are being made to find new sites for those waiting at border sites – and for the thousands more who may pour into the country.

But existing camps are already struggling.

One, Leitchuor camp, once hosted more than 47,000 refugees. But heavy rains flooded the site, forcing about one-third of the inmates to move to dry ground.

"Facilities like grinding mills, water points, latrines – refugees cannot access them because they are flooded," UNHCR worker Matthew Binyiri said, estimating that more than three-quarters of investment had been "washed away."

John Wiyual, 41, is one of thousands stuck knee-deep in water at Leitchuor. He arrived at the camp in March with four children and wants to find a dry place to live, but cannot venture out too often because he is worried about his family.

"I can't let the children run around without somebody around, there is so much water and they might fall in," he said. "I don't where to go."

This week, each side accused the other of launching attacks, with rebels and government troops exchanging artillery barrages and heavy gunfire in Upper Nile state, which borders Ethiopia.

Ateny Wek Ateny, spokesman in Kiir's office, said the government delegation to peace talks had been recalled home until the rebel side turned up.

"The team is sitting idle in Addis Ababa doing practically nothing, while the chief negotiator of the other side is planning for war," Ateny said, adding that they would return as soon as mediators called them.

Kiir and rebel chief Machar met last month in Tanzania, shaking hands and accepting mutual responsibility for the war.

It was their first meeting since they signed a ceasefire in August, which, like three previous agreements, swiftly collapsed.

"The more they attack the more there is fighting," South Sudan army spokesman Philip Aguer said, blaming the rebels for the recent surge in violence.

Meanwhile, the refugees in Ethiopia say they will not return to South Sudan until the war is over. 

"We will stay here until we get peace in South Sudan," said Wiyual, adding that all he had left was prayers. "I hope, God willing, there will be peace."

str-pjm/gd

© 1994-2014 Agence France-Presse

Fierce fighting erupted in Bentiu last week, the oil-rich capital of Unity State in the north of South Sudan.

Mercy Corps is providing life-sustaining water and sanitation services for more than 45,000 people who’ve sought safety and shelter from the nearly yearlong conflict at the U.N. peacekeeping base on the outskirts of Bentiu.

Those efforts — as well as the safe learning spaces we support for children to continue their education — were temporarily disrupted during the height of the violence.

Some of our staff were forced to take shelter in U.N. bomb shelters to escape intense gunfire and shelling. Meanwhile, our national team members living and working in the camp continued services as best they could during lulls in the fighting. They kept water points functional, maintained chlorination to keep the supply drinkable, and continued latrine cleaning and garbage collection.

Displaced themselves, they were determined to keep helping their community as much as possible without jeopardizing their safety or getting caught in the crossfire.

Last week’s fighting was another telling sign that violence may once again escalate in South Sudan’s ten-month conflict, now that the rains are ending and soldiers can once again move more freely.

The dry season should be a relief. Pumps began to decrease the stagnant flood water that people had been living in for months in the camp. Drier dirt roads are becoming passable and airstrips operational, allowing increased transport of essential supplies to families who have fled to remote areas.

Highlights

• Tensions persisted in Lakes, Unity and Upper Nile states. Despite increasing insecurity, aid agencies reached 3.5 million people of the 3.8 targeted this year.

• Living conditions in displacement sites in Bentiu, Unity State and Mingkaman, Lakes State were dire due to flooding. CERF has allocated funding to improve living condtions of displaced people in the UN base in Bentiu. Meanwhile relocations were completed in Bor, Jonglei State.

• Aid agencies launched a major campaign to screen 600,000 children for malnutrition in Central Equatoria, Northern Bahr el Ghazal and Warrap states.

• Cases of Kala-azar continued to rise in South Sudan, and reported cases surpassed the cumulative fi gure for the same period in 2013.

Aid reaches more people, tensions rise

Ten months into the conflict, tension continued, mainly in Lakes, Unity, and Upper Nile states. Civilians continued to face violence, especially women and children. On 30 October, the UN Secretary-General condemned the resumption of hostilities in Bentiu and Rubkona in Unity State and reminded parties to the conflict of their obligations to protect civilians and respect international humanitarian law.

To date, three signed cease-fire commitments have been broken. Even after the signing of the framework agreement to address the root causes of the conflict on 20 October in Arusha, Tanzania, tensions continued in Bentiu, Malakal and Rumbek. Since December, more than 1.9 million people have fled their homes. About 1.4 million people are internally displaced and another 470,000 are in neighbouring countries.

The conflict has created a dire food security situation. The Integrated Phase Classification analysis released in September projected that some 1.5 million people remain in crisis and emergency phases of food insecurity until December, despite harvests starting in late August. The number will likely increase to 2.5 million people projected to be in crisis or emergency from January to March 2015. Over 900,000 children remained malnourished and are in need urgent help.

Ethiopia: Refugee Operation: Influx from South Sudan

Highlights

• According to UNHCR as of 24 October about 190,965 refugees had arrived to Ethiopia from South Sudan since mid-December 2013. The main entry points continue to be Pagak, Burubiey and Akobo Tergole.

• The road to Matar is likely to clear of water soon but is expected to require full maintenance/rebuilding over a 20km stretch which has been washed away by the over-flowing river.

• WFP Ethiopia has so far moved over 29,586 mt of food commodities to South Sudan by air, road and river through the cross-border operation. Over 77 percent was dispatched through the air operation.

Situation Update

• According to UNHCR, the arrival rate in the past week was an average of 92 persons per day.

• From the total arrivals since December 2013, 157,570 South Sudanese refugees were relocated to camps in Gambella as of 28 October while about 21,000 are awaiting in Transit Centers for relocation. About 12,300 people were recorded as missing for relocation.

• The road from Gambella to Leitchuor is still impassable.

• Food delivery to Leitchuor is still by boats. Due to the fast dropping water levels in Baro River, the loading into boats will move from Gambella port to Itang Port where the port is deeper than Gambella.

Medair is increasing its efforts to provide essential health and nutrition services to thousands of displaced families in Renk, Upper Nile State as rates of malnutrition exceed emergency thresholds.

An estimated 13,200 people* are stranded north of the town with very little assistance. Medair has been working in Renk since June 2011, and despite being forced to withdraw some staff last month due to heavy fighting, teams have returned to scale up emergency nutrition activities.

Medair will set up two to three new nutrition centres in the region to diagnose and treat the severely and moderately acute malnourished women and children. Therapeutic foods such as Plumpy’Nut will be provided, and staff will carry out regular health examinations. Water, sanitation, and hygiene support will also continue to be given to families.

“Hundreds of people have left behind their livelihoods, livestock, and crops due to the insecurity - their only sources of food. Now they are surviving on food given to them by families who are hosting them,” said Nadine Eriksson, Medair’s Nutrition Project Manager. “Rates of malnutrition were beyond emergency thresholds in Renk even before the recent fighting. We are scaling up our activities here because therapeutic food and additional medical treatments are required to treat the severe malnutrition that people are suffering from.”

Since the violence erupted in December 2013, the UN estimates that close to 1.9 million people have fled their homes, including 1.4 million who remain displaced within the country. Around four million people face critical food insecurity as a result of the fighting.

Medair continues to use its expertise gained from 23 years of aid experience in South Sudan, and adapts its relief activities to provide emergency services to those in extremely vulnerable situations.

• According to a registration of the International Organisation of Migration.

Medair has been present in South Sudan since 1992. Since the conflict began in December 2013, Medair has assisted thousands of affected people through nutrition, health, water and sanitation, emergency shelter, and distribution of non-food items.

For media, please contact:

Abigail Woodcock, Press Relations Officer (English) abigail.woodcock@medair.org +41 (0)21 694 84 72 or +41 (0)78 635 30 95

For enquiries and interviews from South Sudan, please contact Wendy van Amerongen, Communications Officer (Dutch, English) comms-sds@medair.org +211 (0)927 475 150

Medair’s South Sudan programme is supported by the EC Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection, the United States Agency for International Development, Common Humanitarian Fund, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Swiss Solidarity, and private donors.

For more information on Medair’s South Sudan programme, click here.

Medair helps people who are suffering in remote and devastated communities around the world survive crises, recover with dignity, and develop skills to build a better future.

This release was produced with resources gathered by Medair field and headquarters staff. The views expressed herein are those solely of Medair and should not be taken, in any way, to reflect the official opinion of any other organisation.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Government authorities in Khartoum have stated that there are no plans at the moment for any search operations in Kalma IDP camp, South Darfur.

• Over 15,000 people in northern Abyei started receiving food aid for the first time since 2011.

• FEWS NET reports that food security levels in Sudan will continue to improve in the October 2014 – February 2015 harvest period and will remain stable through March 2015.

• Over 7,000 people who returned to two villages in West Darfur were registered by IOM last week.

Tensions remain in Kalma camp, South Darfur

On 2 November 2014, the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) issued a statement about tensions in South Darfur’s Kalma internally displaced persons (IDP) camp. UNAMID received reports that Government security forces intend to conduct a search operation in the camp, and issued a statement expressing concern on the possible impact of the operation on the displaced people there. Since August 2014, UNAMID has taken preventive measures to mitigate the impact of such operations on the civilian population of the camp and to reduce tension there.

UNAMID has engaged local authorities in South Darfur, in accordance with its protection of civilians’ mandate, and demanded that if there were a need for such selective searches, they should be conducted in coordination with the camp leaders and the Mission. During the searches, authorities should respect human rights and observe international humanitarian law, UNAMID said.

Local authorities have assured their goodwill to cooperate with UNAMID in this regard if and when such searches are conducted. Government authorities in Khartoum have also assured UNAMID that there are no plans at the current time for any such operations in Kalma camp.

Kalma IDP camp was established in February 2004 and is located about 15km east of Nyala town, in South Darfur’s Bileil locality. With the population of 126,190 people, Kalma is one of the largest IDP camps in Darfur, according to the World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). This includes 83,350 people who were displaced and arrived in the camp between 2004 and 2011; 27,100 people who arrived between April and May 2013, and 15,740 people who arrived between February and March 2014.

Kalma is a heavily politicised camp, which has seen some deadly clashes between supporters and opponents of the Doha peace process in July 2010. Some of the armed movements in Darfur have considerable support and sympathisers in the camp. The Government has been saying that armed movements use the camp for anti-government activities. With the exception of the State Ministry of Health (SMoH), no Government bodies are present in the camp. UNAMID conducts police patrols and maintains a police centre in the camp. Meanwhile, UNAMID has strengthened the presence of peacekeepers in the Mission’s patrol site in Kalma and has increased the number of patrols, which are conducted 24/7 in the camp.