23,000 flee Jonglei violence, UN says
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Elisabeth Janaina
Jun 2, 2013, 12:12:44 AM6/2/13
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23,000 flee Jonglei violence, UN says
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May 31, 2013 (BOR) - More than 23,500 people have been forced from
their homes in Jonglei state, where the South Sudanese army are
fighting an armed rebellion in Pibor county, according to the United
Nations.
A child who has recently returned to South Sudan is forced to eat dry
rice by her mother in Jonglei state(ST File)
The UN Office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (OCHA) said
in a report earlier this week that 19,000 had been displaced in recent
fighting but Tim Irwin, a spokesperson for the UN’s refugee agency
(UNHCR), said on Friday that the number of of those seeking refuge
Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia.
Ethiopia, which borders Jonglei’s Pibor county, has received about
16,000 people since the beginning of May, Irwin told AP, while 5,000
have arrived in Kenya and 2,500 in Uganda.
Most of those fleeing are women and children, he said, as men will
often "stay behind to protect the land and take care of the
livestock."
Jonglei state’s governor, Kuol Manyang Juuk, told Sudan Tribune on
Friday that the increasing displacement was due to the 10-month-old
rebellion by David Yauyau, a priest by training who first begin
fighting the government after he failed to become an MP in the 2010
election. Yauyau briefly accepted an amnesty in 2011 before resuming
his rebellion with the alleged help of neighbouring Sudan.
“Most people must have ran to Ethiopia and Kenya, these are always the
results of war and conflict”, Governor Manyang said.
Manyang said that some civilians in Pibor that are controlled by the
South Sudanese army (SPLA) lack “food and certain necessities”,
calling upon the humanitarian organisations to come for their rescue.
“Those NGOs, and UN agencies that [left] Pibor because of fear, should
now come back to continue providing necessary help to the needy ones
there."
The SPLA, he said, he cleared Yauyau’s forces from Boma and Maruo and
some other villages. "All the rebels elements are being pursued by the
army now”, Manyang added.
Officials within South Sudan’s Relief and Rehabilitation Commission
(RRC) expressing doubts over the high numbers of displaced given by
the UN, warning that some people from other areas of the country might
have used the Jonglei situation to gain access to refugee camps in
Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia.
Pibor county’s commissioner, Joshua Konyi, told Sudan Tribune on
Friday that he had received information that some of the people now
arriving in Ethiopia had ran to Yauyau’s side for protection during
recent clashes. Having realised that his armed group could not protect
them they got into difficulties and had to resort to seeking refugees
in Ethiopia.
Other people had left for South Sudan’s capital, Juba, but Konyi did
not “know how they made it”.
The commissioner of the troubled county declined to reveal who
informed him about the presence of Jonglei refugees in Ethiopia and
where exactly the refugee camps are located in Ethiopia.
According to Konyi, those who listened to his advice stayed in Pibor
with him, after he assured them of their safety.
“Those who listened to my advise are now here, and what we now lack is
the food for them, because humanitarian agencies did not come back
with food yet”, said Konyi said Juba Arabic on the phone from Pibor.
The RRC warned humanitarian agencies not to conduct self-initiated
assessment missions without involving local actors before providing
food aid.
Gabriel Deng Ajak, the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission RRC
director in Jonglei state (ST File)
The Jonglei director for RRC, Deng Ajak, said in 28 May letter to
different humanitarians partners that involving his body would improve
the quality of humanitarian actions.
“In order to improve the quality of humanitarian actions during the
response and to be held accountable, there is a need to strengthen the
level of coordination with the government at all levels”, he said in
his letter.
RCC Jonglei letter to all humanitarian partners - 28 May 2013
“Hereforth, all the humanitarian operating in Jonglei, are urged to
abide by the above principles and include all RRC in all the
assessment missions in the state without undermining its institutional
structures from the national level to payams [sub districts]”, he
ordered.
The letter was sent, according the RRC director, to various
humanitarian agencies in South Sudan.
(ST)
ArticleComments (12)
EmailPrintSave
May 31, 2013 (BOR) - More than 23,500 people have been forced from
their homes in Jonglei state, where the South Sudanese army are
fighting an armed rebellion in Pibor county, according to the United
Nations.
A child who has recently returned to South Sudan is forced to eat dry
rice by her mother in Jonglei state(ST File)
The UN Office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (OCHA) said
in a report earlier this week that 19,000 had been displaced in recent
fighting but Tim Irwin, a spokesperson for the UN’s refugee agency
(UNHCR), said on Friday that the number of of those seeking refuge
Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia.
Ethiopia, which borders Jonglei’s Pibor county, has received about
16,000 people since the beginning of May, Irwin told AP, while 5,000
have arrived in Kenya and 2,500 in Uganda.
Most of those fleeing are women and children, he said, as men will
often "stay behind to protect the land and take care of the
livestock."
Jonglei state’s governor, Kuol Manyang Juuk, told Sudan Tribune on
Friday that the increasing displacement was due to the 10-month-old
rebellion by David Yauyau, a priest by training who first begin
fighting the government after he failed to become an MP in the 2010
election. Yauyau briefly accepted an amnesty in 2011 before resuming
his rebellion with the alleged help of neighbouring Sudan.
“Most people must have ran to Ethiopia and Kenya, these are always the
results of war and conflict”, Governor Manyang said.
Manyang said that some civilians in Pibor that are controlled by the
South Sudanese army (SPLA) lack “food and certain necessities”,
calling upon the humanitarian organisations to come for their rescue.
“Those NGOs, and UN agencies that [left] Pibor because of fear, should
now come back to continue providing necessary help to the needy ones
there."
The SPLA, he said, he cleared Yauyau’s forces from Boma and Maruo and
some other villages. "All the rebels elements are being pursued by the
army now”, Manyang added.
Officials within South Sudan’s Relief and Rehabilitation Commission
(RRC) expressing doubts over the high numbers of displaced given by
the UN, warning that some people from other areas of the country might
have used the Jonglei situation to gain access to refugee camps in
Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia.
Pibor county’s commissioner, Joshua Konyi, told Sudan Tribune on
Friday that he had received information that some of the people now
arriving in Ethiopia had ran to Yauyau’s side for protection during
recent clashes. Having realised that his armed group could not protect
them they got into difficulties and had to resort to seeking refugees
in Ethiopia.
Other people had left for South Sudan’s capital, Juba, but Konyi did
not “know how they made it”.
The commissioner of the troubled county declined to reveal who
informed him about the presence of Jonglei refugees in Ethiopia and
where exactly the refugee camps are located in Ethiopia.
According to Konyi, those who listened to his advice stayed in Pibor
with him, after he assured them of their safety.
“Those who listened to my advise are now here, and what we now lack is
the food for them, because humanitarian agencies did not come back
with food yet”, said Konyi said Juba Arabic on the phone from Pibor.
The RRC warned humanitarian agencies not to conduct self-initiated
assessment missions without involving local actors before providing
food aid.
Gabriel Deng Ajak, the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission RRC
director in Jonglei state (ST File)
The Jonglei director for RRC, Deng Ajak, said in 28 May letter to
different humanitarians partners that involving his body would improve
the quality of humanitarian actions.
“In order to improve the quality of humanitarian actions during the
response and to be held accountable, there is a need to strengthen the
level of coordination with the government at all levels”, he said in
his letter.
RCC Jonglei letter to all humanitarian partners - 28 May 2013
“Hereforth, all the humanitarian operating in Jonglei, are urged to
abide by the above principles and include all RRC in all the
assessment missions in the state without undermining its institutional
structures from the national level to payams [sub districts]”, he
ordered.
The letter was sent, according the RRC director, to various
humanitarian agencies in South Sudan.
(ST)
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