File: Displaced women and children stay under a tree in Pibor/Courtesy photo

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says aid agencies have been granted access to the volatile areas of Jonglei where thousands of civilians fled into the bush following clashes between the SPLA and forces loyal to David Yau Yau.

The move came days after a human rights watchdog pressured the Obama Administration to urge South Sudan government to give humanitarian actors “unimpeded access to Jonglei State.”

Most of the humanitarian assistance had been cut off by the violence in the state, particularly in Pibor, since January when the violence intensified.

In an interview with Eye Radio, the Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan, Toby Lanzer said some of the aid agencies reached parts of Pibor County:

“Non-governmental organizations and UN agencies have met communities near Dorain, Fertait & Labrab to assess their needs and mount a humanitarian response, including urgently needed medical attention, in addition to ongoing programs in other parts of the state.”

Mr. Lanzer said an armed mobilization of youth has led to clashes elsewhere in the county.

“Some 200 casualties have arrived in Manyabol and are being attended to by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan,” he said.

“The UN, including its Humanitarian Air Service and World Health Organization, is accessing Manyabol and evacuating the most critically injured to Bor where medical personnel from non-governmental organizations are ready to treat the wounded.”

Mr. Lanzer called upon the government, national, local and traditional leaders of all communities in Jonglei to urgently stop the cycle of violence which he says is leading to senseless loss of life and suffering amongst civilians.