Displaced persons in MalaKal, Upper Nile erecting USAID-provided shelter/ Photo courtesy USAID

At least seventeen people have been confirmed dead in Fashoda County of Upper Nile State following the recent attack in several villages in the area over the weekend, according to the Commissioner.

Joseph Aban says the victims mostly elderly people were killed in their houses in Bodh, Nyigir Pabor, Pathow, and Padid villages.

“Regarding the death cases, the number is high, but we did not count them all. we confirmed now is about 16 elderly people who got killed in their houses including a child, 8 years,” Aban told Eye Radio from Kodok, the headquarters of Fashoda County Wednesday.

He says the figure could be higher as many people have gone missing for days now.

“We are still counting the number because there are some people who are missing.”

Although calm has returned to the area, Aban says the humanitarian situation there is dire.

“The humanitarian situation is very bad, it is seriously terrible for them because everybody ran away without food and clothes,” said Aban.

“So, they need shelters and food, and I’m calling to the humanitarian organizations to rescue the situation because a human being cannot sleep in the rain and sun without food,” he appealed.

On Tuesday, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stated in a statement that about 8,000 civilians have been displaced in Fashoda County of Upper Nile by the violence.