Pibor Administrative Area

The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan has condemned the killing of another aid worker in Pibor Administrative Area.

An unidentified armed men reportedly attacked a team of Plan International’s humanitarian workers near Pibor town last Thursday.

According to the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, one aid worker was killed on the scene and another one suffered serious gunshot wounds.

The team was said to be returning to Pibor on foot after delivering critical nutrition services to children and new mothers affected by violence and flooding in the area.

Following the incident, OCHA says the nutrition program funded by the South Sudan Humanitarian Fund, is temporarily suspended.

In a statement issued yesterday, the UN humanitarian coordinator, Alain Noudéhou, strongly condemned the killing.

He said: “I strongly condemn this attack and the killing of yet another humanitarian worker, this time in the Pibor area. I call once again for authorities and communities at all levels to guarantee the safety and security of aid workers and the people they serve.”

OCHA stresses that this year alone, eight humanitarian workers have already lost their lives on duty in South Sudan.

This, the UN humanitarian coordinator points out, is “unacceptable.”

Thousands of humanitarian workers – most of them South Sudanese – take daily risks to deliver much-needed assistance to women, men and children across the country.

Half of all reported humanitarian access incidents in 2020 have involved violence, or threat against aid workers and assets.

OCHA states that inter-communal and sub-national violence and attacks on aid workers are seriously hampering the delivery of humanitarian assistance and deepening vulnerabilities faced by communities in hard to reach areas.

Noudéhou also called on the government to bring to book the perpetrators of this violent act.

“The perpetrators of this violent act must be brought to justice and be held accountable,” he added.