Twenty-nine aid workers have been killed while delivering assistance since the beginning of the conflict in 2013, according to the UN humanitarian coordinator in South Sudan, Eugene Owusu.

Mr Owusu has called on all parties to the conflict to protect aid workers.  He spoke in Juba on Wednesday during an event marking the World Humanitarian Day.

“The last sum of humanitarian workers who are missing and clearly not accounted for,” Mr Owusu stated. “I cannot give you a definite figure but we do have indications.”

More than 2 million people have fled their homes due to the conflict, as per UN estimates. 1.6 million people are internally displaced and more than 600,000 others have sought refuge in neighboring countries.

The World Humanitarian Day is marked annually to recognize those who face danger while trying to help others.

The day was designated by the UN General Assembly to coincide with the anniversary of the 2003 bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq.