Minister of Information Michael Makuei Lueth - Photo: Awan Moses/Eye Radio

The Minister of Information said the government is hunting down culprits involved in the attack on a convoy of the World Food Program in Jonglei State, where two contractors were killed.

On Friday, March 17 2023, unidentified gunmen opened fire on a convoy of 100 trucks carrying relief supplies along the dreaded highway between Jonglei and Pibor.

The incident invoked calls for justice from the Humanitarian Community and partners in South Sudan, as WFP indefinitely paused its convoy movement out of Bor city.

The United States Embassy in South Sudan condemned the attack and called on the government to protect aid-workers.

Speaking during the R-JMEC 28th’s plenary on Thursday, government spokesperson Michael Makuei said the government does not tolerate or encourage such criminal attacks.

He adds that, efforts are underway to bring the perpetrators to book the perpetrators.

“On the looting of the World Food Program Humanitarian Assistance supplies, the R-TGoNU regrets the incident,” he said.

“The R-TGoNU maintains that it is not its policy to engage or encourage individuals to carry out such attacks. However, under the current living conditions, such acts are likely to occur. The R-TGoNU undertakes to bring the culprits to book”.

It was not clear how the government intends to arrest the attackers, who reportedly remain unidentified.

According to the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, more than one million people in Jonglei and Pibor rely on the humanitarian food assistance that humanitarian community transports along the Gadiang highway.

In 2023, an estimated 9.4 million people in South Sudan were projected to need humanitarian assistance or protection service.

South Sudan is one the most dangerous places for aid workers, with nine humanitarian workers killed in the line of duty and 418 incidents reported in 2022.