South Sudan Red Cross personnel. (Courtesy).

The South Sudan Red Cross has condemned the killing of four of its volunteers during the violence in Kajo-Keji County of Central Equatoria State.

The violence, which occurred in Liri Payam on Thursday led to the death of 27 people, the wounding of dozens, and the displacement of thousands of others.

John Labor is the Secretary-General of the South Sudan Red Cross.

He says the volunteers, who were part of the team in the Kajo-Keji unit were picked from their houses together with community members and shot dead.

He added that the volunteer workers were in the area to mobilize the community member to vaccinate against covid-19 and conduct awareness against Ebola.

“We have learned with shock and sadness the killing of four SSRC volunteers and community members. we condemn this act of killing humanitarian workers and call on the authorities to arrest the perpetrators and bring them to justice.”

The team of medics were deployed in Kajo-Keji in October 2022 to investigate a suspected case of the Ebola virus that was spreading in neighboring Uganda.

The SSRC official called on armed actors across the country to respect the Red Cross staff while assisting people in need across the country.

He said SSRC is coordinating with authorities to deliver coffins to help the families bury their loved ones with dignity.

The UN said South Sudan is one the most dangerous places for aid workers, with nine humanitarian workers killed in the line of duty and 450 incidents reported in 2022.

The four victims of the Kajo-Keji violence put the number of humanitarian workers killed in 2023 to seven.