Air workers offload food from a UN chopper in an unidentified location in South Sudan.

Aid organizations have withdrawn from Waat, Akobo and Walgak in the former Jonglei State due to fear of insecurity, the Undersecretary in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs has said.

Gatwech Peter Kulang told Eye Radio that some of the aid workers started leaving last week, after one of the organizations was looted.

“They are trying to withdraw their staff because in case everyone is fearing. Sometimes if the incident happened – there are of course fighting between the parties – sometimes, they kill humanitarian staff, so we said it is a good decision for them to withdraw their staff,” Mr Gatwech said.

“But at the mean time there is no much engagement at the field level because … the communities are saying that they are interested in peace,” he said.

Mr. Gatwech said some humanitarian organizations have now written to the ministry, saying they want to assess the situation before returning.

The withdrawal comes amidst calls for access to people affected by hunger due to the conflict.